Opposites Attract
by whiskytangofoxtrot
Summary: Maura and Jane hate each other. Can they overcome their differences and start a friendship? Things become more complicated as Jane's love life presents its own challenges. Eventual Rizzles. Bear with me, folks. Rated M for language and future chapters. Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I don't own Rizzoli and Isles.

"Detective Jane Rizzoli, Victor 825."

Maura's stomach tightened as she heard the detective check in at the crime scene. She remained kneeling next to the dead body in front of her with her back towards the sound of Jane's clunky boots. She drew in a sharp breath when she felt Jane's presence next to her.

"Dr. Isles." Jane greeted the medical examiner in a clipped tone. They always addressed each other professionally. Neither of them particularly like the other since they met that day in the coffee shop. Maura was convinced the brunette really did not have a 'heart of gold.'

"Detective Rizzoli." She mimicked Jane's tone.

Jane turned her attention to Korsak and caught up on the case. Maura noticed the scars on the other woman's hands as she ran them through her hair. She caught a glimpse of Jane's face as she turned her head back to the body.

"You got anything for us, Doc, or are you just gonna keep staring at me?"

"Hairline fracture of the nasal cartilage."

"I think a broken nose is the least of this guy's problems."

"Not him. You. It's quite a simple fix. I could set it if you like." Despite their distaste for each other, Maura occasionally tried to extend an olive branch to Jane to ease the tension between them.

"No thanks, I'm good."

"Oh come on, Jane." Koreas tried refereeing the situation. He never understood why Jane was such an ass to Maura of all people. "If you don't let her fix it, you know Crowe's gonna be riding your ass about your face being black and blue tomorrow." Jane rolled her eyes and puffed air through her nose, but didn't immediately object.

After a moment of contemplating the smartass comments she was certain the guys would throw her way, she sighed. "Fine, but make it quick."

Maura stood and placed her hand on Jane's chin, turning her face side to side to get a better look at the injury. Jane just glared at her, angry that she had given up some of her pride to be healed by Maura.

With no warning to her patient, Maura set the fracture with a pop. "Dammit! You could've told me when!" Jane's hand flew up to her nose and she jerked herself away from Maura. The blonde was not phased by Jane's dramatic behavior and expected no less from her. "Put some ice on it for the next 24 hours. Otherwise you'll look like you just went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson," she stated matter-of-factly.

"It's 12 rounds, not 10." Jane mumbled under her breath.

After analyzing the crime scene, it was determined that the Surgeon, and Jane's worst nightmare, apparently had a copy-cat - or worse, an accomplice. As much as Jane wanted to hide her anxiety, she failed. It was evident to Korsak and Maura that the thought of going through this again worried her. Maura watched Jane as she began to pace the room, fidgeting with her hands. She couldn't help but feel sorry for what Jane was going through. Maura had never been in a life or death situation, and although she didn't really know all of the details about Jane's experience with Hoyt. Although they had their differences, Maura genuinely admired Jane for experiencing such trauma and continuing to put her life on the line for others as a detective.

xxx

The next day, Jane walked with determination into the morgue. Her meeting with Hoyt had left her feeling anxious, and she needed to know if she was dealing with just another copy-cat psycho or someone actually connected to the Surgeon.

"Detective, can I help you?" Maura asked without looking up from the body.

"Yeah, you can help me by doing your job."

"And what, besides my job, might it look like I'm doing now?" Maura's tone reflected the anger she felt at Jane's insinuation that she was incompetent.

Jane was aware of the fact that her words offended Maura, but she ignored it. "Well do you have anything?" Maura explained every minute detail of her findings to annoy Jane and prove her thoroughness as a pathologist. Once Jane figured out there were details of the murder that weren't released to the press, her fears were confirmed. She left the morgue without so much as a 'thank you' or 'fuck off.'

xxx

Later in the week, Jane found herself feeling smothered by Angela, Frankie, and Frost. She knew they were just trying to protect her, but she needed to get away. She needed to go somewhere that she didn't have to think about Hoyt. Leaving Angela in the kitchen, she disappeared to her bedroom to change. She threw her sweatpants and tank top into the laundry basket and put on a pair of black skinny jeans, booties, and a red shirt. She went to her bedroom and put on a little makeup, but not too much. She didn't want Angela getting suspicious. The last thing she needed tonight was an interrogation about whether she had finally found a man. Following one last look in the mirror, Jane grabbed her gun and keys. She exited her bedroom and tried to gather the rest of her essentials before Angela could ask too many questions.

"And where do you think you're going?" Angela was shocked that Jane would try to leave with an escaped murderer on the loose.

"Somewhere you're not." And she was out the door.

It didn't take a lot of effort to evade Frankie and Frost, but she was sure Angela had already called to tell them she had left. She drove to the one place she knew she would be able to unwind - if only a little. When she arrived at the Merch, she was greeted as a regular by Katie, the blonde bartender. Katie knew she could find Jane at her usual spot at the corner of the bar. Like clockwork, she could look towards the corner and see black curls every Friday and Saturday. She quickly learned that even if Jane arrived alone, it didn't mean she would be going home by herself.

She finished serving drinks to two college girls and began walking towards the detective. "The usual, Jane?" Katie started to pull a beer from the cooler when Jane held up a hand, causing her to pause.

"I'll pass on the beer tonight. How about a whiskey, neat?"

"Whiskey, huh? Tough day at the office?"

"You could say that."

Jane turned up the glass like it was a shot and finished it in one long swig. Four whiskeys later, she was finally beginning to unwind. Katie poured another and slid it towards Jane. "From the little blonde in the middle of the bar." She motioned towards a shorter young woman who Jane guessed was in her mid twenties. Not that it mattered. She needed company tonight, and this was her opportunity. Jane stood up from her usual seat and swaggered over to her admirer to thank her. Jane had a magnetism about her. It was rare that she had to initiate flirtation. Women were naturally drawn to her strong personality that was evident just from watching her. Of course, her equally strong physical features didn't hurt either.

The younger woman introduced herself as Ellie, and the two talked as Jane continued to toss back whiskey. She wasn't worried about being too hammered. There were always sloppy college girls who could take the focus off of her. Once her head began to swim, she knew it was time to lay off the hard liquor. Ellie laughed at one of Jane's jokes and as she placed her hand on top of Jane's. Brown eyes became even darker as she stared through a perfectly manicured hand as if she could see her own scar burning through. _He's out there. He's coming for me._ She motioned for Katie to hand her a beer. Ellie watched Jane's expression fall, and thought she might have said something to offend the detective. But Ellie was also drunk by that point, and her focus shifted quickly as she began to pull her hand away from Jane's. "Whoa, cool scar!"

Jane tried to contain her emotions despite the fact that she wanted nothing more than to shove Ellie off her barstool. Katie heard the remark, and intervened before Jane did something she would regret. "Ellie! Time to close your tab, hun. I think your ride is leaving."

"Aw, dammit! It was nice to meet you Jane! I'll see ya around." Ellie was a very happy drunk.

As Ellie left the bar, Jane chugged the last of her beer. Once she was sure Ellie had left, she looked up to meet Katie's eyes. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Don't worry about it, Jane. This one's on the house." She popped the top off another beer and handed it to Jane.

As the night progressed, the bar became much more crowded. A DJ was performing and the dance floor was full. Jane was fully feeling the effects of all the alcohol she had consumed, and made her way to the bathroom. As she entered the stall and started to sit down, she dropped her phone on the floor. _Damn, I haven't even had it a week and I'm gonna break this one too._ She started to pick it up when she saw a hand outside the stall beat her to it.

"Hey, mother f-fucker!" she yelled as she quickly pulled her pants up and jerked the door open.

"Oh, I was simply-"

"Dr. Isles."

"Hello... Detective. I, um... here you go. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to steal it. Also, your fly is open."

"God dammit.." Jane looked down and zipped her pants. The slight blush she had already developed from drinking grew rapidly. "Well I was kind of interrrrrupted by somebody stealing my phone!"

"Well I wasn't stealing it." Again, she held out the phone for Jane.

"W-wait a minute. Can you just-just hang on to that for a second? I didn't even get to pee!" She didn't give Maura time to respond before she was back in the stall.

Maura had never imagined seeing Jane this way. _I wonder if she's here with anyone. Wait, why isn't she at home? I thought Frankie and Frost were keeping an eye on her. I seriously doubt they would approve of her being this drunk in a public place while a murderer is tracking her down. What if she's here with a girlfriend? I'm certainly not surprised to find her in a lesbian bar. Not that it really means anything, I'm here but I'm not gay._

The door jerked open again. Jane stepped out of the stall and closer to Maura. Only one of them was really aware of how close they were. Jane held her left hand between them, palm up. "Phone."

"You really should wash your hands first. The infectious bacteria in bar restrooms-"

"I don't need sssscience lesson, doc!" She grabbed the phone from Maura's hand. The doctor did not expect to find Jane still standing in the bathroom when she exited the stall.

"So... _doctor._ I didn't peg you for a lesbian." Jane was slumped against the sink and didn't move when Maura began to wash her hands.

"Not that you'll remember any of this conversation tomorrow, but I'm actually not a lesbian. I came here to dance. The case has been rather stressful, and I find dancing is an effective release."

Jane grinned and let out a small chuckle. "Hmmm I could've had a good _release_ tonight, but she turned out to be a bitch." Maura couldn't help but laugh at the detective, seeing her in such a different light than she was used to. "Well, that's unfortunate. I know you've been under more pressure than anyone else this week."

Jane didn't respond and began rubbing her palms. Three women entered the restroom, and Maura saw that as her opportunity for an exit. She felt guilty for leaving Jane alone in there. But she didn't know how to carry on the conversation. After all, that was the longest exchange they had ever had, and it happened in a bar bathroom while Jane was piss drunk.

Maura danced for another hour, thinking of her interaction with Jane the whole time. She decided another drink would help her take the edge off, and went to the bar for her second glass of wine. As she was about to get Katie's attention, she glanced to the left and saw Jane sitting at the bar, eyes closed, with her head in her hands. _Maybe I should go see if she's alright. Well, clearly she isn't alright. She's all but passed out at the bar._ Deciding against another drink, Maura mustered the courage to approach Jane once more.

Placing her hand gently on Jane's shoulder, Maura gave her a small nudge. "D-detective Rizzoli?" Jane's head shot up as she tried to pass as an alert and sober bar patron. "Huh? Yeah. What's up? Oh, hey Doc! W-what are youuuu doing here?"

"We've already met here tonight. I think it's time I take you home. The bar is closing soon anyway."

"Is this your way of telling me y-you're attra- att..." she paused to let her nausea die down. "- attracted to me?"

Maura laughed, "No, detective." She led the taller woman out the door and into the passenger seat of her Prius. She had every intention of taking Jane back to her own apartment, but each time she asked Jane where she lived, Jane responded by saying she couldn't remember or that she didn't know. Maura couldn't remember the last time she had interacted with a person that intoxicated. _Tomorrow is going to be a bad day for Jane Rizzoli._

When they arrived at Maura's house, she called Frost to assure him Jane was safe and taken care of. She poured a glass of water for Jane and demanded she drink it before going to sleep. Jane refused at first, but gave in when Maura began reciting facts about dehydration and hangovers. The doctor was amused at how childish the detective acted when she didn't get her way. As she made sure Jane followed her instructions to prevent an even worse hangover, Maura decided to ask Jane why she ended up at the Merch in the first place.

"Same reason I always do. Needed a drink, needed a fuck." Jane's brash response was not that surprising, but Maura really wasn't expecting her to be so honest.

"Well at least you fulfilled one of those wishes."

"Guess so." Jane finished the last sip of water, and it was very evident that she was tired. Maura offered her the guest bedroom which was across from her own. Maura started to apologize for not having any clothes that would fit Jane comfortably. "Don't worry about it, I can just sleep in my underwear. Unless that's not classy enough for ya." It became clear that Jane was sobering up a little by the tinge of bitterness in her last statement. Maura decided not to fight fire with fire this time. Instead, she decided to toy with Jane. "Sleeping in your underwear is acceptable. In fact, I find that I'm often most comfortable when I sleep in the nude. Studies show it helps regulate body temperature for a more restful sleep." Jane had no response. She stood with her long arms dangling at her sides, her eyes wide, and her jaw slack. "Goodnight detective. Should you need anything, I'm right across the hall." With that Maura turned to walk to her own room, a smug grin on her face.

Thirty minutes later, sleep had not come easily for either woman. Maura laid in her bed, unable to turn her mind off. She wondered who Jane almost went home with. She was curious if Jane had a type. Trying to imagine her as a lesbian was easy. In fact, Maura always thought Jane was gay. But trying to imagine Jane being with someone else was difficult because Maura, and everyone else, had only seen the independent side of Jane Rizzoli. Before tonight, Maura thought that might have been the _only_ side of Jane. In the guest room, Jane's thoughts remained on her greatest fear. She fought her body's need for rest, but ultimately she was unsuccessful.

Maura was pulled out of her curiosities by what she thought was a sob. She sat up in the bed, listening intently, waiting to hear the noise again. A raspy voice suddenly screamed. "No! Please!" Before she was aware of it, Maura's feet began to make their way towards the guest room. She didn't bother to knock, but she paused in the doorway at the sight of the invincible detective. Jane's long arms were spread across the width of the bed, and her eyes were shut tightly. Maura's hazel eyes trailed the length of Jane's left arm. When her gazed reached boney, tanned fingers, she found the brunette's hands were also stretched open, palms facing up. Suddenly, the hands turned to fists as Jane squirmed and whimpered. A single tear fell down her cheek. Maura felt nauseous the realization hit her that this is exactly the position Jane was in when she acquired her scars. She rushed to sit beside of Jane.

Her left hand gently grazed Jane's cheek, and Jane quickly recoiled from the touch. In a swift motion, Jane inhaled sharply as her eyes burst open and she sat up in the bed. She was panting and sweat had started to gather at her hairline and as the base of her neck. Maura watched as her guest took in the unfamiliar surrounds. Jane sighed and leaned back into the headboard as she finally realized where she was. She could feel the trail left by a hot tear on her cheek and wiped it in a quick motion as if Maura wouldn't notice if she was fast enough.

A long pause fell between the two of them as Jane tried to regulate her breathing. Finally, Maura spoke first. "Are you okay-"

"What's it look like?" Jane snapped. Maura was afraid to say anything else. Afraid Jane would run. But it didn't matter. Jane planned to run anyway. She exited the bed opposite from where Maura sat. She began to pick up her clothes and get dressed. Maura didn't realize what was actually happening. She found herself fixated on the lean physical specimen that stood across the room. Black lace panties and matching bra was all that covered the taller woman. Her eyes lingered on Jane's abs until the tank covered them, forcing her gaze to the strong arms whose indentations were accentuated by the dim lighting of the lamp. "Thanks for the ride tonight, but I'm outta here."

Jane now stood fully dressed. Maura came back to reality. "Dammit... did I leave my card at the bar?"

"You must have. I wasn't aware you had a tab open. I'm sorry. If I realized I would've-"

"It's fine." Jane waved her hand in dismissal, and sat back down on the bed. "Guess I can't take a cab if I don't have any way to pay the cabbie."

"Jane, I really don't mind if you stay. It's no trouble at all." The detective's head swirled around to face Maura. She didn't respond immediately, causing Maura to wonder what she was thinking.

"What?"

"It's.. nothing. It's dumb. Don't worry about it."

"No, Jane. What is it?"

"It's just... you've never called me by my name before. I'm always Detective Rizzoli." Maura was unsure of how to respond. She had never been gifted when it came to social interaction. Jane mistook her silence for ridicule, and she hung her head. "See. Told you it was stupid."

"No! It's not stupid at all! I would be surprised to hear you call me 'Maura.' But in one night, I've managed to escort you home from a gay bar, I've taken care of you in your drunken state of being, and I just saw you in your underwear. I think we're on a first name basis now." Maura gave Jane a friendly smile and laughed softly. After a moment, Jane smiled and laughed as well. "Yeah.. I guess you're right. _Maura._ " Her smile grew wider as she realized the effect she had on the blonde simply by saying her name.

"You really should try to get some rest, Jane."

"I've been trying for months. Guess I'm just not trying hard enough. Especially this week." Jane's voice became softer the longer she spoke. She repositioned herself so that she was leaning against the headboard again. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knee. Maura reached out to place her hand on Jane's forearm. "Jane, if you'd like, I could stay here until you fall asleep."

"Actually.. would you mind to just lay here with me tonight? You don't have to touch me or anything. Just sleep on that side. I'll sleep over here." Jane could still feel the effects of her drinking. She knew she was still tipsy to say the least. She also knew it was the alcohol giving her the courage to say - and let alone, think - what she had just asked Maura. It depressed her to know that she couldn't even drink the nightmares away anymore. She needed to feel another person's presence, even if it was the medical examiner that annoyed her so much when she was sober.

Maura was genuinely touched by Jane's suggestion. She immediately agreed, and turned down the sheets on the other side of the bed. Jane removed her shirt, tank, and pants again and Maura quickly turned off the lamp to hide her blush. After only a couple of minutes, exhaustion got the best of the detective. She snored softly while Maura studied her moonlit expression. _Of course Jane snores. I knew she wouldn't ice her nose for as long as I recommended. This is where it gets you Jane Rizzoli. Snoring._ Jane stirred and brought Maura out of her thoughts. The smaller woman waited patiently, ready to respond immediately and relieve Jane from her nightmare should it become necessary. To her surprise, a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist while a long leg landed across her own. Maura inhaled the scent of lavender as Jane nuzzled her head between her neck and shoulder. She whispered into raven locks, "I've got you. You're safe."


	2. Chapter 2

Jane awoke relatively early for someone with a hangover. The sun was just beginning to rise, and her mouth felt like a desert. She had limited memories of the night before. She knew she went to the bar that night with intentions of going home with someone, so she wasn't surprised to open her eyes to see her arms wrapped around another woman's body. She knew she had a tendency to cuddle when she was drunk. She smiled and raised the covers to inspect the woman that lay beneath her. She noted the curve of the other woman's hips and the perkiness of her breasts despite the fact that she was clothed. _Hell yeah, Rizzoli! An ass and the rack of a god.. too bad I don't remember it._ Her eyes trailed the length of the woman's body and stopped abruptly at her familiar face, causing Jane to do a double-take. _No... no. I couldn't have. She wouldn't have. What? Fuck. I gotta get outta here. Okay. Careful, Rizzoli. Don't wake her up._

Maura stirred slightly at just the moment Jane pulled her arm free. Jane knew she didn't have much time - if any - before the doctor woke up. She quickly gathered her clothes, phone, and shoes before bolting out of the bedroom, not even stopping to dress. Once she exited the house, she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes and hurriedly got dressed on the porch. _God dammit. I'll be the first homicide detective to be pulled in for indecent exposure._ Luckily no one was able to see her from the street. She began to walk down Maura's driveway and onto the sidewalk. She called for a cab to return her to her car at the Merch.

Once she arrived at her apartment, Jane realized it was 8:30 am. She hadn't paid much attention to her pounding headache and dehydration until the ride home due to the commotion and confusion from waking up with Maura. As if on cue, Korsak called her and told her not to come into work. He told her they would keep a detail parked outside her apartment and one in the lobby. He reassured her that Hoyt wasn't going to reach her. She knew she had to put up some sort of fight with Korsak so he wouldn't ask any questions, but she was actually thankful for his order to remain home. Of course, she wasn't going to follow it, but she welcomed the extra couple of hours to sleep off the hangover.

xxx

Jane was up and out the door yet again by 11:00. On her way to meet Agent Dean, she stopped for a greasy hamburger and order of fries. She was certain she wouldn't feel this bad if she hadn't slept with Maura. She thought she could be more useful if she got an update on the federal side of the case. It was an added bonus that she wouldn't run into her oh-so-familiar medical examiner there.

The detective was right in her assumption of being more productive with the feds than back at BPD. After making a major breakthrough on the case, she headed back to where there was apparently an incident occurring in her apartment complex. She arrived and was immediately upset to hear that her law-student neighbor had been murdered. That was her last moment of freedom before being captured by Hoyt and his henchman.

xxx

Maura had been annoyed and even a little angry at Jane's behavior that morning. The sound of Jane slamming the door on her way out brought her out of her peaceful sleep. The sheets were still warm and the other woman's scent lingered in them. Maura didn't know what she had expected from Jane. She scolded herself for thinking a friendship could have been established in one night. Especially when Jane was that drunk, and _especially_ when Jane had been that vulnerable around her. If anything, her display of vulnerability would only create more tension between them in the real world. Maura didn't understand why Jane always felt the need to protect her reputation. Then again, she didn't know much about Jane at all. She thought back to how it felt to see Jane splayed out on the bed while she was tormented by another nightmare of Hoyt.

The rest of Maura's day was anything but monotonous. Korsak asked her to tag along to inspect the breaking and entering that had occurred at Jane's apartment. Although there was no body to examine, and Maura was thankful for that, he requested her experience and brilliant mind. When they arrived, Maura was stood in the doorway for a moment, taking in the sight of Jane's destroyed apartment. The living room received the most damage, but the intruders made their presence known in every room. Frost and Korsak remained in the living room while Maura made her way around the apartment alone. She pulled on a pair of latex gloves as she moved into Jane's bedroom. She knew Hoyt held an obsession for Jane and wondered if there were any significant pieces of evidence in Jane's most personal space.

Some of the mess she assumed was actually made by the owner. BPD sweats and athletic apparel were tossed onto the floor in one corner of the room. As Maura made her way around the foot of the bed, she heard a crunch. She lifted her foot to determine she had stepped on broken glass. A picture frame lay face-down. Maura knelt to pick it up, turning it over to find a picture of Jane, Frankie, and Tommy. They were dressed in ugly Christmas sweaters. Jane and Frankie were laughing and Tommy's eyes were wide, his mouth making an "o" shape. She rarely saw Jane smile, let alone laugh. Maura realized she was smiling at the sight of the typically stern detective's joy in the photograph. She sat the picture upright on the top of Jane's dresser and continued with her search. She had helped inspect many crime scenes before, but this felt almost intrusive. She knew she needed to at least open the draws of Jane's dresser and nightstand to rule out any significant messages Hoyt and his accomplice had left for Jane.

As she pulled each drawer open, it became apparent why Jane's wardrobe was so predictable. Maura estimated that she had to own at least 20 of the same style shirt in different colors. She also discovered that 40% of Jane's wardrobe consisted solely of clothing that represented Boston's professional sports teams. She was pleased that she discovered no threats from Hoyt in the dresser and moved to the nightstand. Opening the top drawer, she was immediately drawn to a photograph of the detective and a smaller brunette. This one was not framed, and its edges were frayed. Judging by Jane's appearance, Maura guessed that the photo was taken a few years ago. Only the smaller brunette was looking towards the person who took the photograph. Maura noticed the piercing blue hue of the stranger's eyes. She and Jane were dressed elegantly. Maura guessed it was taken at New Years Even Party by the streamers and decorations in the background. Jane's arms were wrapped tightly around the stranger as she stood behind her. Only the left side of Jane's face was visible in the shot because she was turned towards the other woman, kissing her on the cheek. Maura sat down on the edge of the detective's bed. She flipped the photograph over to reveal a message written in handwriting that she knew didn't belong to Jane. It simply read _"I'll always love you, Jay."_ There was no signature, only the letter A underneath the message. Maura felt tears well up in her eyes, but she wasn't exactly sure why. She thought it might've been because she was envious. Jane and this woman were obviously very much in love. Maura had never had a love like that, that was reciprocated by the other person. She gently placed the photo back in the drawer, carefully laying it back just the way she found it. She refocused on the task at hand. Opening the bottom drawer of Jane's nightstand, she saw a purple vibrator and began to chuckle. _Maybe she isn't such a prude after all!_

Korsak entered the room just as Maura closed the bottom drawer of Jane's nightstand. "Got anything in here?" Maura shook her head and waited for Korsak to explain why he sounded so rushed. "Okay, we gotta go. Hoyt's got Jane."

xxx

Korsak, Frost, and Maura arrived first on the scene to find Jane sitting halfway in the back of the van and halfway on the bumper. Her gun remained pointed at Hoyt until Frost practically jumped onto him, calling him a son-of-a-bitch and cuffing him. As the two male detectives led the monster away, Maura remained at Jane's side. Jane still held onto the gun. "You can let go.."

"Huh? Oh. Yeah." She tossed the gun onto the ground. Maura reached into her medical bag and produced a flashlight. She turned it on and began to inspect Jane's body for injuries. It took no time for her to notice the burn on Jane's chest. "Oh my god, Jane! Did he burn your chest?" Jane shook her head. "He didn't - I did."

Maura couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You did? What do you mean?"

"It's from a flare. I held onto it as long as I could, then I fired it in his face. In case ya didn't know, flares are hot."

The doctor was unsure of how she should respond. Jane never made jokes around her, only with the other detectives. She brushed it off as Jane's way of coping with the situation, and laughed to encourage her to deal with it in this healthy way rather than resorting to the alcoholic tendencies she displayed the previous night.

"Detective Rizzoli, you did fine work here tonight."

Jane looked down at her hands. "I was just trying to survive, doc." Her curt tone reappeared to confirm Maura's hypothesis that, in fact, nothing had changed between them.

xxx

Korsak and Frost were both needed in handling Hoyt's arrest and processing. Maura would have left Jane in the hands of the EMTs if not for Korsak requesting her to remain by her side and ensure she didn't refuse medical care. After taking Jane to the hospital to be officially examined and treated for the burn on her chest, the duo arrived back at Jane's apartment finding it in just as much a mess as Maura left it earlier. Jane sighed a heavy breath and threw her head back as she stood in the doorway of her home. Maura started to offer a supportive hand to the shoulder in front of her, but just as she brought her hand up, Jane moved forward. Things between them were still as tense as usual, but neither had really communicated with the other since leaving the crime scene.

Jane turned to face Maura when she reached the kitchen island. "Well, you've done your job. You can leave now."

Maura was furious that Jane acted so nonchalant about how much help she had been over the past two days. For a moment, she considered demanding an apology from Jane for how she had been behaving, but decided it would be best to save it for another time considering Jane had, after all, been kidnapped and almost killed in one day. But didn't mean Maura wouldn't get her jabs in where she could. "Sure, I'll see myself out in the same manner that you did this morning." She started to turn away from Jane when the detective spoke up, trying to justify her actions.

"Well, what did you expect Maura? I'm the fuck 'em and chuck 'em kind. I didn't wanna stick around for the awkward aftermath!" Maura stood silently across the island from Jane, taking in the other woman's interpretation of the previous night.

"W-what?! We did not have sex, Detective Rizzoli!"

"Then why the hell was I in my underwear with my arms wrapped around you when I woke up this morning?"

"That's just how you preferred to sleep, I suppose. You had a nightmare, and asked if I could stay and sleep in the guest bed with you. I told you I didn't have any clothes to fit you, but you seemed content in sleeping in your underwear at the time."

Jane paused for a moment before quietly asking for Maura's confirmation of last night's events. Despite all of Maura's clarifications of the night before, she only heard one detail. "I.. I had a nightmare?" Maura nodded.

"It's perfectly alright. Considering the trauma you've been through-"

"Get out." Jane's voice was low, raspy, and boiling with anger. The anger was intended for herself, but ended up directed at Maura.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you-"

"Get the fuck out, Maura!" Jane quickly turned her back towards the other woman and waited for the door to close behind her. She walked over to the door to lock it, and slid down the length of the door. Much like the night before, she leaned into the surface behind her, pulling her knees into an embrace close to her injured chest. She sat like that long enough for the anger to dissipate. Then the embarrassment and frustration began to take over. She began to sob. _Maybe Korsak was right. Maybe I need to talk to somebody. I'll be damned if I'm going to a shrink though. I'm just so fucking sick of this happening. I need a friend. I mean I guess I have Frankie, but he's gotta be there because he's my brother. Frost has to be there because he's my partner, but if I tell him this stuff he probably won't trust me enough to work with me. Can't tell Ma, that's for sure. If Alex were here, she'd know what to do. She'd know how to fix me. God, I miss her. I've got so much fucking baggage that I can't even get drunk and keep the crazy at bay. And Maura of_ _ **all**_ _people had to be the one to see it. God, Rizzoli, you're so fucking stupid sometimes._

When she finally picked herself up off the floor, Jane went into her bedroom, thankful to find it unscathed other than a couple of pillows slashed and the picture of her and her brothers shattered. She threw on some BPD sweats and crawled into bed. She laid there for a moment before opening the top drawer of the nightstand. She pulled out the picture of Alex, kissed it, and held it to the bandage on her chest. Her eyes began to well with tears as she tried to force herself to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Here's a longer chapter! This is what I do while procrastinating on my term papers. You're welcome! Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles.

It wasn't until her second cup of coffee kicked in the next morning that Jane realized what Maura had said the night before. She was relieved that Maura denied they had sex, but she didn't know if she believed it. She and Frost had been working on finalizing the paperwork Hoyt when Maura walked into the squad room. The doctor sat a cup of coffee on Frost's desk before turning her attention to Jane who didn't bother to look up, "there you are, Barry. Detective Rizzoli, I'm sorry for not offering to buy you a coffee as well. I was under the impression you wouldn't be coming in today considering your injuries. I could run back down to the cafe if you'd like for me-"

"Don't worry about it." Jane interrupted her as she held her coffee up show Maura she didn't need one anyway. Frost watched his partner's shoulders tense and eyebrows form a crease in her forehead as the medical examiner tried in vain to apologize. Not wanting Jane's hostility to escalate, he decided to diffuse the situation. "Thanks, doc. I really appreciate it." He gave her a smile that was both gratuitous for her kind gesture as well as apologetic for his partner's behavior.

"It's no trouble at all, Detective Frost. I should head down to the lab to finalize my reports so that you all can file them appropriately. It should only take about an hour. I'll call when they're completed." With that she was out the door and headed to the morgue.

Frost turned his attention to the woman sitting at the desk opposite from him. "Jane.." he paused, waiting for her to look up and meet his gaze. It never happened, so he opened his mouth to continue speaking to her. Jane heard him inhale and start to say something, so she cut him off before the words could leave his mouth. She snapped her head up, now confident enough to make eye contact, and words began to pour out of her mouth.

"Look, I know what you're gonna say. You're gonna tell me I've got no reason to dislike her. You're gonna tell me what a kind and wonderful person she is, and how she just wants to be my friend and all that bullshit that Korsak has told me a thousand times already. Then you're gonna ask what I've got against her in the first place, and honestly I don't know what to tell you. We've never liked each other from the time we met. She's an uppity, judgmental bitch that was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and has no idea what it's like to actually have real problems in life."

Frost wasn't surprised that Jane predicted what he planned to say. They knew each other extremely well, and were better partners because of it. He took a moment to collect himself after Jane's outburst before he responded. "Maybe..." he began slowly, testing Jane's reaction, "maybe you guys just got off on the wrong foot. I mean she's definitely well-educated and articulate, but I've never gotten an uppity vibe from her - certainly not a judgmental one!" Jane glared at him then turned back to her paperwork before mumbling, "please, one of her shoes costs more than my rent."

"So she makes a lot of money! Have you met a Chief Medical Examiner that doesn't? And I'm sure she's had her share of problems in life just like every other person..." his voice trailed with uncertainty of how Jane would handle his last comment. Thankfully, she decided to make light of it with a smart comment instead of blowing up. "Oh yeah? Like what, having to take out the trash herself when the butler is sick? Please."

Within the next thirty minutes, Frost and Korsak had been assigned to a new case by Cavanaugh, leaving Jane to complete the paperwork on her own. Although she would never admit it to anyone, Frost's suggestion of starting over with Maura had been on her mind since their earlier conversation. She also thought back to Korsak's frequent suggestion for her to find a friend to confide in, but she quickly dismissed the fleeting thought that the friend could be Dr. Maura Isles. Just as she was filing the last page of her report, her phone rang. She answered it, sighing her own name into the phone out of sheer boredom from desk duty. "Rizzoli."

Susie Chang's shaky voice was on the other line, "Uh, hi Detective Rizzoli.. um, Dr. Isles - she has a-"

"Out with it, Chang."

Susie hurriedly spat out her reason for calling. "Dr. Isles would like for me to inform you that her report is ready to be finalized with the homicide unit regarding the latest case against Charles Hoyt."

Jane looked around and to her disappointment didn't see anyone she could delegate the task to. "Got it. Frost and Korsak are gone right now. I'll be down in a minute to pick it up."

Susie reported back to Maura that Jane was on her way. The doctor was surprised that Jane agreed to collect the report herself, but she correctly hypothesized that there was no other option. Maura heard the unmistakable sound of unfashionable boots making their way closer to the morgue and she quickly shut her laptop so that the detective wouldn't find out she had been shoe shopping on the job. Jane entered the Queen of the Dead's palace, and to each of their surprise genuinely smiled at her. "Hey, doc. I heard everything is tied up on your end.." She waited expectantly for Maura to hand over the paperwork.

"Yes, Detective. Here you are," she handed Jane a manila folder. Before Jane had a chance to bolt out the door, Maura spoke again. "Your demeanor is certainly different compared to this morning. I take it you've had a pleasant day of working in the office? I'm sure it's less stressful than having to respond to calls and come in contact with criminals." Normally Jane would have taken offense to a comment like that, but she studied Maura's expression and found no trace of bad intention.

"Uh.. well, I'm actually happy to get the hell away from my desk. Even if it means coming to the morgue. Criminals might be dangerous, but that's where the fun is at." She smiled at the doctor, proud of herself for handling the conversation appropriately. "Look, doc, I'm sorry." The apology came out of nowhere, and Jane thought she was surely going insane from initiating a normal conversation _and_ starting to apologize to Maura for her behavior that morning.

"For what, exactly?" Maura's face turned serious.

"How I acted this morning. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. I was just cranky." Jane hung her head. She was unsure of how Maura would react, and she didn't want to look up to see it.

"Apology accepted." Jane started to speak, but she was interrupted by the doctor who clearly had much more to say. "...For this morning. You've yet to apologize for how you have treated me throughout the duration of every case since the day we met, particularly this one involving Hoyt. You also owe me an apology especially for how you behaved last night at your apartment and how you didn't so much as thank me for taking care of you when you were so drunk you were falling asleep at the bar." It was evident to Maura that she was starting to anger Jane. Her jaw was set, and her free hand was alternating between clenching into a fist and spreading her fingers wide - the same behavior Maura had witnessed while Jane fought the demons of her nightmares. Before the detective could counter her remarks, she decided to continue speaking and try to soften the blow of her own words. "Jane," she began using her name for the first time in sober conversation. Brown eyes darted up to meet hazel ones, and expressed an emotion that Maura couldn't quite pinpoint. "I know you've been through hell. I don't know exactly what that hell was like, but I can tell its taken a toll on you physically, mentally, and emotionally. I understand that you felt vulnerable when you found out I had consoled you after your nightmare, but I can assure you, I haven't breathed a word to anyone else about that."

Jane looked down at her hands as she fidgeted with the scars on her palms. "How do I know you're not just saying that?"

"Because I can't lie."

"Bullshit. Everybody does it."

"I have to admit, I have told lies before, but it's not difficult for one to detect when I'm not telling the truth."

"Oh yeah? Why's that? You break out in hives or something?"

"Yes. I do."

Jane laughed at the absurdity of Maura's confession. "No way! You're serious?"

"Yes, Jane. I can't tell a lie without it becoming very obvious."

"So I could ask you anything and you'd have to tell me the truth?" Maura nodded, although she was annoyed because she could tell Jane was about to take advantage of her involuntary physiological response.

"Hm..." Jane began, trying to make it seem like she didn't already have a question in mind. "So you swear we didn't have sex?" She gave Maura a smug grin, knowing she had her cornered.

"No. As I told you last night, we slept in the same bed and you cuddled up against me but that was the extent of it. I can assure you there were no orgasms involved."

Jane blushed at Maura's mention of her cuddling. She knew she could get handsy when she was drunk. She also knew how she longed to have someone to hold at night, the way she used to hold Alex. "Well. Okay then. But for the record, there doesn't have to be an orgasm involved to have sex with somebody."

A smug smile began to creep up Maura's face. "Maybe that's true in _your_ experience, Detective."

"Hey! What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jane was more shocked at the doctor's response than offended at her insinuation that Jane wasn't as skilled as she was in the bedroom. _Maybe she's not as uppity as I thought._ Both women shared the first genuine laugh of their relationship.

Maura simply widened her mischievous grin and shrugged. Jane looked down at her palms before she spoke again. "For the record, I am sorry for how I've treated you this week. You didn't have to take me home and take care of me. You sure as hell didn't have to try to console me after I woke up screaming. Thank you for that. And thank you for trying to take care of me last night too. I wouldn't have done those things for you. Clearly, I misjudged you. You're a better person than me, Maura."

Maura raised her hand to let it rest on Jane's bicep. It was the same bicep she had admired in her guest bedroom several nights ago. She gave it a gentle squeeze to show her sincerity. "You're welcome, Jane."

xxx

Over the course of the following week, the two women had grown to hate each other less. It was surprising to both of them, but they began to enjoy each other's company. Neither was quite comfortable enough to confess that to the other at this point. Jane had finally accepted Maura's offer to help clean her apartment, which she still hadn't touched since the break-in. She found herself too exhausted to think of cleaning by the time she got home from the precinct each day. At Frost and Korsak's suggestion, Jane decided to take Maura out for drinks at the Robber in order to thank her for putting the apartment back together. Maura was knocking on Jane's door at precisely 9:00pm, just as they had planned. She heard Jane scold Jo Friday for chewing on the dog bed, and the raspy voice grew louder as the detective approached the door. Maura paused to take in the sight of the woman standing in front of her. Chuck Taylors, dark blue skinny jeans with a hole in the right knee, a Red Sox baseball tee, and wild black hair that fell over the woman's shoulders. The doctor stepped into the apartment, sharing a smile with Jane. She didn't say anything as she walked towards the kitchen island and stood silently watching Jane. "What?"

Not wanting to offend Jane anymore than she had in the past, Maura chose her words carefully. "It's just.. I-I feel a bit...over dressed?" She thought by turning the attention to herself, Jane wouldn't be insulted. She was right. Jane began to laugh as she looked Maura up and down.

"Well there's something I never thought you'd say! 'Over-dressed!' Says the woman who wears stilettos to crime scenes!" Maura realized the irony, and giggled a little.

"Point taken, Jane. But you said we were going out and I thought this would be the appropriate dress. Where exactly are we going?"

"The Dirty Robber! I thought I told you that earlier." Maura stared blankly at Jane indicating that she definitely was not informed of where they were going.

"No, Jane, you didn't. You simply stated we were going out. These are my going out clothes!" She gestured toward the purple, form-fitting dress and silver heels she was wearing. "The _'Dirty Robber_ ' doesn't exactly sound like an establishment where this type of attire would be considered the norm."

Jane chuckled and shook her head. "God woman, you are something else! Anyway, what you're wearing really isn't all that important. You look fine! And besides, the Robber isn't exactly a place that attracts a certain type of patron. I can assure you both of us will fit in just fine." She gave the blonde a reassuring smile, and placed her hand on Maura's back to lead them out the door.

"Well, you're right. I do look great in this dress." Jane tried to hide her laugh as the locked the door behind them.

After a couple of drinks at the Robber, both women began to feel more comfortable around each other. Jane had made it her mission to set Maura up with an attractive guy, but Maura shot down all of Jane's suggestions and vice versa.

"Geez, Maura, are you gonna have a problem with _every_ guy I choose for you?"

" _Geez_ , Jane, are you going to continue choosing men with obvious signs of genetic disorders?" Maura mocked the brunette's tone as dark brown eyes shot her a glare.

"Look I'm not saying you gotta marry the guy! Just spend the night with him." She tipped the top of her beer towards Maura, raised her eyebrows twice, and flashed a mischievous grin to reveal the true meaning of her comment. Maura rewarded her behavior with a slap on the arm and a smile of her own. The smaller woman was becoming looser as a result of her third glass of white wine, and she felt brave enough to ask Jane a personal question.

"Since you're so intent on being my matchmaker, when's the last time you dated someone, Jane?"

The detective's lean hands began to fidget as the smile fell from her face and she looked down towards the table. Maura inhaled audibly and started to apologize for asking and change the subject entirely, but stopped when she felt Jane's hand hover softly above her own. "No, it's okay." She turned to face Maura and smiled weakly, which the doctor found was not very reassuring. "Three years ago." Jane was now looking back at the table. "We were together for six."

"Six years?" Maura didn't expect Jane to be someone who held such a steady relationship for that amount of time.

"Yeah. Six years." Her voice was soft and coated with emotion, making it even raspier than usual. Maura didn't want to upset Jane, so she didn't press her for more information. Brown eyes remained focused on her beer for a moment before bringing it to her lips and taking a long sip. When she sat it back down on the napkin, she felt her words begin to pour out before she could think to stop them. "Her name was Alex. We when we were officers and then we were both assigned to the drug unit after becoming detectives." She paused momentarily, but it was long enough for Maura to interject.

"Isn't that the unit you worked in when we first met?"

"Yeah. Anyway, she was killed three years ago." Maura's eyes grew wide for a second, and it was obvious to Jane that she only had more questions after hearing that. Jane took another sip of beer to give her the strength to get through the tale. She thought she should have been used to talking about it by now, but it never got any easier for her. Her eyes remained on the bottle as she began to explain. "It was a bust gone bad. Her dumbass rookie partner tipped off the second in command. Her and the rest of the unit were sitting ducks by the time they arrived at the house to round up The Dealer - that's what he was called, great nickname, I know. They murdered her and two other cops. It happened that morning, and I didn't find out until that evening. I was working undercover when it happened." Her voice was monotone the entire time she spoke.

Maura had been listening attentively the whole time, never taking her eyes off Jane. "I'm so s-"

Jane held her hand up in protest and moved a little away from the other woman. "Don't. Everybody's always sorry for things they weren't responsible for."

A thick silence fell between them as Maura watched Jane's eyes for any indication of how she should respond. She was thankful when she saw Jane readjust in her seat and begin to speak again. "Anyway... The Dealer was confirmed dead in D.C. a couple of weeks ago. Serves him right." Her voice had become low and laced with hatred for the man who took her love away.

Maura still was unsure of what to say, but Jane was desperate to change the subject. She didn't know how much longer she could stand talking about Alex. "What about you? What's the longest you were ever with anyone?"

"Only two years. I've found it's difficult for people to remain involved with me for an extended period of time."

"Is it the Googlemouth?"

"Beg your pardon?"

"You know.. how you get so caught up in the scientific names and details of stuff and you just talk forever about nothing and everything at the same time?"

"Well, I suppose you could say that. I was always the weird one. But I thought Ian was different."

"He wasn't?"

Maura sighed. Jane had opened up to her, so she felt like she owed it to her to open up a little herself. "No, he wasn't. He cheated on me, but I was so in love I looked over it for a long time."

"So you knew about him cheating on you and you stayed with him?" Jane couldn't believe that a woman who was so educated could be so stupid when it came to relationships.

"Yes. That's exactly what I did. At least, it was until a friend showed me that love didn't look like that. I was mistaken. Ian was the only person I had ever felt that way about, and I was so in love with him I allowed him to disrespect me and use me." Jane suddenly felt sorry for the woman.

"Well I can tell you right now, Ian's an asshole. You deserve better than that, Maura."

"You couldn't possibly know what I deserve, Jane."

"Take it from someone who was an ass to you for the longest time for no real reason... You deserve better. And not only is he an ass, he's an idiot for cheating on you. I mean look at you! You're all class! You came to a sports bar in a dress and heels for God's sake." She flashed a smile at Maura, trying to make it obvious that she was trying to lighten the mood. It wasn't very effective.

Maura hung her head. "My past relationship problems are nothing compared to the pain you've gone through, Jane."

"No need to start competing for whose life sucks more." She drew the last sip from her beer and sat it back down on the table before lightly slapping her hands against the table. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

xxx

As Jane drove towards Maura's house to drop her off, both women were consumed by their own thoughts as they rode in a comfortable silence. Jane thought about the good times she had shared with Alex, and Maura thought about the progress she had made that evening in becoming friends with Jane.

When they reached Maura's house - or as Jane referred to it, her mansion - Jane didn't bother to get out of the car and walk Maura to the door. Then again, Maura didn't really expect her to. Before she was completely out of Jane's car, Maura turned to the brunette to thank her for the drinks.

"Maur, it's the least I can do for you considering everything you've done for me - not to mention make up for me being an ass all this time."

"You don't have to keep proving your apology to me, Jane. I've already forgiven you. Drive safely." She closed the door and began to walk onto her porch, but not before smiling sweetly at Jane. The detective's protective instincts forced her to stay in the driveway until Maura was safe inside her home.

As she was walking up the final flight of stairs to her apartment, Jane's phone began to began to vibrate. She pulled it from her back pocket as she was unlocking her door. She didn't recognize the number, and she immediately felt a little nervous considering everything she had gone through with Hoyt recently. She slid her thumb to the right to answer it. "Rizzoli." Her voice was tense.

 _"Jay... Oh my god. It's so good to hear your voice."_

"Who the hell is this? It's not funny you fucking bastard."

 _"It's me, babe! It's Alex.."_

"That's bullshit and you know it. Who are you?" Jane was fighting back the tears. It definitely sound like Alex, but that wasn't possible.

 _"Didn't you hear about The Dealer getting killed? It's over, Jay. I'm coming home!"_

Jane's ears began to ring and she felt light-headed. She gripped the phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Prove it."

 _"Prove what, Jay? That I'm alive?"_

Jane remained silent, waiting for the proof she needed.

 _"Okay...ummm lemme see. I remember your birthmark. The one on on your left hip, just below your panty-line. The one I always loved to kiss."_

Jane's breath hitched and she could feel tears streaming down her face. She brought her hand to her mouth, trying to contain the sob that would inevitably escape her lips. She felt like she was going to suffocate. She put the phone on speaker and sat it on the kitchen counter. She placed her hands on the edge of the counter, leaning into them in an attempt to steady herself. _It's not real. You're dreaming. It can't be happening. She's dead. You went to her funeral. She's dead. Jane she is DEAD. Wake up, Rizzoli. You better wake up right fucking now._

 _"Jay.. babe, are you there?"_

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Alex could only hear sobs coming over the line.

 _"I know it's confusing, Jay. They put me in the witness protection program after the bust. Babe you have to know that I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you everything so you wouldn't worry, but I couldn't. They put me on the first plane to Montana. But I'm coming home tomorrow!"_

The excitement in her voice was evident to Jane. Jane was excited too, but she felt so many emotions, she couldn't sort them out immediately. She struggled to find words, but she knew she needed to say something to Alex.

"I.. I uh.. wow. T-that's great, Alex."

 _"Aren't you happy, Jane?"_ She only used Jane's full first name when the conversation turned serious.

"What? Yeah! Of course I am. It's just.. It's a lot, ya know?"

 _"Yeah, I know. So can you pick me up from the airport tomorrow?"_

"Um.. yeah, sure, I guess. I'll have to let Korsak know I need the day, but it shouldn't be a problem."

 _"Korsak? They've got you working homicide now?"_

"It was more my choice. I put in for a transfer after everything that happened."

The two talked for a few more minutes before Alex ended the call to finish packing. Jane moved from the kitchen to her couch and covered her face in her hands. She thought back to the day she had received the news. She had been annoyed with Alex the night before it happened, but she couldn't remember why. For someone that hated talking about her feelings, Jane found it ironic that those were the only things she remembered vividly about the day her fiancee died. She remembered having to put their argument on hold as she got dressed as a prostitute to work her undercover operation that night. She knew Alex was preparing for her biggest bust of her career the next morning. After working the undercover operation all night, Jane stopped by the coffee shop in her hooker clothes before heading home to sleep. Thinking back on the worst day of her life, she realized that was an important day for more than one reason.

 _That's why I hated her. I didn't hate her when I met her. I hated her after I met her. I hated her because she reminded me of Alex dying. I was there, talking to her, taking out my bad mood on her, while Alex was dying. Oh god.._

Without acknowledging it midnight, Jane began to dial Maura's number. After only two rings, she heard the blonde's sleepy voice.

"Maura! Shit, I should have known you'd be asleep. I'm sorry. I've gotta tell you this though." Maura was fully awake once she heard the urgency in Jane's voice. She stopped her before she could continue speaking.

"Jane, is everything alright? Do you need me to come over?"

"No, well - maybe. If you want. I don't know. No. Just.. hear me out, will ya? Everything's fine, I just need to say this. I realize now why I hate you. Hat _ed_ you, actually. And the good news is, I never really hated you! I just hated what you reminded me of!"

"I don't understand how that's any better. Could you elaborate?"

"When we met in the coffee shop that morning, Alex was dying. I guess once I figured out where I was while she was being shot to death, I associated you with her dying."

"Well, Jane, that's quite an epiphany you've had. How do you feel?" Jane wasn't prepared for her question. She grew silent, trying to sort out exactly how it made her feel. She didn't want to lie to Maura anymore. She realized the full truth of her earlier conversation with the doctor. Maura really did deserve better.

"I.. I don't really know. Kind of shitty, I mean about how I treated you all this time."

"Jane, I'm not worried about that. I'm more concerned with making sure you're alright after having that realization about Alex's death." Jane smiled at how selfless Maura always was.

"Well that's just it! She's not dead!" Jane explained everything she had learned within the last hour. Maura initially thought Jane was going insane, but after hearing the whole story, it made sense. She noticed that the more Jane talked about picking up Alex the next day, the more her excitement dwindled. She chalked it up to Jane being nervous and this being a lot of information to process in such a short amount of time. Before they ended the call, Maura made sure Jane knew she was there for her if she needed to talk to anyone. Jane thanked her for the sentiment, and apologized again for waking her. Maura genuinely confessed it was no trouble at all. After hanging up, Jane enjoyed her first full night of uninterrupted sleep in three years. Maura, on the other hand, found it difficult to rest. To her, this was someone to take Jane away from her just as she had made her first friend since returning to Boston.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Whoa, baby! I'm blown away by the kind reviews I've received! I wasn't even sure if I wanted to finish this story, but now I know I've gotta give the people what they want. Anyway, on with it! This chapter is rated M for sex and such. As always, I don't own Rizzoli and Isles.

xxx

For the first time in a very long time, Jane was excited to get out of the bed the next morning. At the first sound of her alarm - which was a miracle in itself - she jumped out of bed and went to take a shower. As she continued to get ready to go pick up Alex, she felt a familiar pang in her stomach. She shook her head, and tried to think of something to take her mind off of it. Once she finished buttoning the last button on her shirt, she looked in the mirror to check herself out. She had taken a little more time with her appearance, but her curls were still messy, and compared to most other women, she still wore minimal make up. She had, however, darkened her eyeliner a little (which was pretty much the only make-up trick she knew of). Satisfied with her results, she grabbed her coffee cup and headed out the door.

The feeling in her stomach refused to subside, even after a jelly donut. As she was sitting on a bench in the terminal, she heard the familiar "bing" of her phone. She took it off her belt clip, and saw she had a text from Maura.

 _Jane - I hope you have a great day with Alex. She's lucky to have you. - M._

Jane smiled at Maura's thoughtfulness before replying.

 _Thanks, Maur! I think I'm the lucky one though. :P_

One more "bing."

 _I'm not sure what :P is supposed to mean, Jane. - M._

 _LOL, I'll explain later, Maur._

Just as she was locking her phone, she heard a familiar voice call her name. She turned around to find its source, and her eyes met icy blue ones, full of tears. Their reunion wasn't anything like the movies. It was emotional, but not romantic. Alex didn't immediately drop her bags and run into Jane's arms. Jane didn't pick her up and twirl her around as they kissed. They locked eyes as they stood still, taking in the sight of each other. Jane noticed that Alex's hair was longer than she remembered it. She also noticed Alex looked refreshed, as if she had simply taken a three-year vacation instead of being monitored closely by U.S. Marshals that whole time.

Alex's face turned from happiness to something Jane didn't recognize as she took in the sight of her tall, tanned homicide detective. Jane's features didn't reflect her jovial personality anymore. There was something hardened about her. She could see it behind those brown eyes. Something had changed. Maybe it was the grieving that had taken a toll on her. Maybe it was bigger than that. Alex imagined that Jane hadn't been getting much sleep lately.

Slowly at first, Alex began walking towards Jane, but gained speed as she approached her target. Her bags hit the floor with a heavy thud and each woman rushed to embrace the other. Alex pulled her head out of Jane's shoulder and tried to kiss her. Jane dodged Alex's lips so that they landed on her cheek. She pulled the smaller woman closer towards her. She didn't need intimacy right now. She just needed to know Alex was really here. And alive. Her actions didn't go unnoticed by Alex, who then confirmed that something had definitely changed about Jane.

Jane helped Alex carry her bags into the apartment, and the two women talked about the plans for the day. Alex told Jane she would like some time to go visit her family and asked Jane to accompany her. Jane had suggested she go alone and spend quality time with them. She offered some excuse about how she had to go back and follow up on a lead to a case. Truthfully, it was all becoming a bit much for Jane to take in at once, and she needed some time away from Alex to process everything. She offered Alex a ride to her parents' house, and as they were turning onto the street, Alex caught a glimpse of Jane's scar.

"Jay! What the hell happened to your hand?" Her voice held traces of horror and disgust.

Jane's eyes bolted towards Alex, momentarily leaving her driving to chance. Alex's reaction threw Jane completely off. She had never anticipated Alex to act like that. She hadn't even thought about how her fiancee would react to the marks that had been made since her 'death,' but she was certain she would not have expected this. She could feel her face burning red with shame.

"I - they're.. um.. can we talk about that later? It's kind of a long story..." And a story Jane wasn't sure if she was prepared to tell.

"Sure, Jane." She winced at Alex's use of her full name in that context. When they reached their destination, Alex leaned in for a chaste kiss, her hand on Jane's forearm rather than her hand. The smaller woman exited the car, and Jane flashed a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

xxx

After arriving at BPD, Jane found herself walking to the office of Dr. Isles with a coffee in one hand and a hot tea in the other. She stood in the doorway waiting for Maura to look up from her computer. "Jane! Hello! What are you doing here? How did it go this morning?" Maura was now standing in front of Jane, and without being prompted, she decided to hug the detective. Jane returned the gesture, albeit awkwardly as she tried not to spill either of the drinks she still held. Jane was the first to pull away. She handed Maura one of the cups she held.

"A peace offering for calling and waking you up last night." Maura's face lit up as she took the tea from Jane.

"Well that's really unnecessary, but thank you very much, Jane! So... how did it go this morning?"

Jane plopped down on Maura's couch, and started fidgeting with her hands. The doctor could tell by Jane's behavior that it wasn't exactly the reunion she had hoped for. She started to tell Jane that she didn't have to talk about it if she didn't want to, but Jane spoke first.

"I don't really know... I mean, it was fine I guess. She needed to go see her family. I dropped her off at her parents' house before I came here." Her eyes remained on the ground as she spoke, and by the time she was finished her hands were shoved underneath her thighs. That was a behavior Maura had never observed in the detective. Concerned she asked if Jane was experiencing any pain or muscle spasms.

"Wha- oh, no. I'm just cold, Maur." Her voice was still soft, and she waited for Maura to call bullshit on her lame excuse. _Cold? Seriously, Rizzoli? Your hands are cold from carrying down two hot drinks in the middle of summer?_

Maura knew Jane's excuse didn't make sense considering the circumstances Jane was already thinking of. Worried her friend may have a cold, she found herself at Jane's side asking if she felt sick or feverish. Jane denied having any symptoms of illness, but Maura still worried.

"You know, Jane, if you're still experiencing pain from time to time, it's perfectly normal. As much as you do every day, I wouldn't be surprised."

Jane's hands were sore after carrying both of Alex's 50 pound bags up five flights of stairs. But she didn't want to show anymore signs of weakness to later be ashamed of, so she remained silent.

"I could massage them if you like.." Maura's suggestion was hesitant and she was unsure of how Jane would react, but she wanted to help in whatever way she could. Jane turned slightly towards the doctor and slowly removed her hands from under her thighs. She held them up as they trembled with embarrassment, vulnerability, and fear. Jane was struck by the realization that those were exactly the emotions she felt when picking up Alex from the airport that morning. Suddenly, Maura's warm hands made contact with Jane's. The blonde's skilled fingers began to work the pain from Jane's hands and she felt the detective relax instantly at her touch. Neither of them said a word. Brown and hazel eyes both remained on the source of the contact. The familiar buzz of Jane's phone interrupted them. Jane reached with her left hand to answer the call without checking to see who it was. Meanwhile Maura's fingers moved to her right hand, continuing her ministrations on scarred skin and tissue.

"Rizzoli."

"Don't sound so happy, Jay." Alex's tone was sarcastic, but playful. Jane smiled a bit at the normalcy of their interaction. It had been the first organic interaction they had since Alex called last night.

"Sorry, Alex. It's just been a long day already at the precinct." Maura's eyes probed Jane in a questioning manner. Jane simply shrugged and rolled her eyes, and Maura knew the comment was only meant to cover Jane's difficulty to adjusting to Alex again. Jane found it odd that they were able to communicate so effectively without even saying anything, especially since they were still at each other's throats a week ago.

"Don't worry about it, babe. Listen.. I picked up my car from mom and dad's, and I was hoping I could meet you at the cafe for lunch!" Her enthusiasm was evident. Jane heard every word she said, but her mind was focused more on Maura's gentle hands that continued to massage her own. A barely audible moan escaped her lips, but it was loud enough for Maura to hear. Jane realized she had to offer Alex a response.

Feigning enthusiasm, she agreed to lunch at the cafe.

"Sounds great, Jay. See you in fifteen. I love you." Those last three words were so sincere. They were once so familiar, but now they scared Jane.

"Yeah, you too." She quickly hung up the phone before Alex had time to question her about it. Jane knew she didn't want to go to lunch alone with Alex. There was too much pressure to put up the facade of the old Jane. The Jane that hadn't grieved her fiancee or been nearly murdered, then kidnapped by a psychopath. She was thankful Angela had the day off so she wouldn't have to explain Alex's pseudo-death again. She didn't want to invite Frankie because he didn't know about it yet either. Maura was the only one who knew the latest in the situation, and after finding comfort and peace in her presence within the past thirty minutes, she was the only option that made sense. She pulled her hands from the doctor's grasp, and met her gaze.

"You hungry?"

xxx

While waiting on Alex to arrive, Maura thought about how grateful she was that she and Jane finally seemed to have formed a bond. Jane had trusted her enough to open up to her about Alex. She was the first one Jane called when she heard the news that Alex was alive. She even let her touch her hands, something Maura noticed long ago that was off-limits to _anyone_. On top of that, there seemed to be an ease when it came to communicating with Jane that she had never experienced with another person. As it turns out, she was also surprised that they could read each others thoughts just by sharing a look.

But she knew Alex's reappearance was taking its toll on Jane. Her eyes remained on Jane, Jane's eyes remained on the door, anticipating Alex's arrival. Maura watched her bounce her feet quickly, but quietly. She fidgeted with her hands as she propped her elbows on the table. A crease had formed in the middle of her brow. "Okay, here she comes."

Maura watched Jane's expression change dramatically. Scarred hands were shoved into her pants pockets as she stood up to greet Alex. Maura noticed Alex try and fail for the second time that day to meet Jane's lips with her own. Just as before, Jane moved at the last minute so the kiss landed on her cheek. Jane turned her attention to Maura and introduced the two women.

"So, Maura - this is Alex, my girlfr-"

"Fiancee." Alex interjected.

"Well if you would've let me finish... Anyway, Alex, this is Dr. Maura Isles, our Chief Medical Examiner." Jane's voice was proud as she introduced her new friend.

"It's very nice to meet you, Alex. Jane has told me about the circumstances of your relationship. I think it's wonderful that you two were able to reunite."

"Thanks, Dr. Isles. Hey, aren't you the new medical examiner that came in a week or so before I 'died?'" Alex used air quotes when she said the last word. Maura never understood why people did that. She thought they just looked silly.

"Yes, I suppose that's correct." Her response was short, but polite. She wanted to make a good impression for Jane.

The three women made small talk before Stanley practically threw their sandwiches onto the table.

"Well that guy seems like a dick." Maura was thrown off by Alex's crudeness. She was sure Jane had also made comments like that before, but never while they were in public. Sure she called Stanley a jerk to his face and said she hoped he died of psoriasis, but for some reason that was different to Maura. Jane never looked up from her sandwich with extra pickles. She was unsure of what to say. Maura decided to take this opportunity to inquire more about Alex.

"So, Alex, what are your plans now that you've moved back to Boston? Will you return to your job as a detective?" Jane looked at Maura with thankfulness in her eyes. This had been something she wondered about, but she hadn't yet felt comfortable enough to ask Alex about it herself. She certainly welcomed the opportunity for Maura to ask the tough questions for her.

"Actually, I've taken a job with the feds."

Jane almost choked on her lunch. "You _what?_ "

"Yeah, sorry I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, Jay. I was just so happy to finally get to come home to you." She reached over to squeeze Jane's forearm. Again, Jane noticed she didn't touch her hand, even though it was freely resting on the table.

Maura moved the conversation along. "When do you start?"

"In about two months. They want to get everything squared away after me being in protection so long. I guess they've still gotta make sure I am who I say I am. Well.. who I _really_ am, anyway." The two shared a small laugh while Jane remained expressionless.

The rest of their meal went on in pretty much the same manner. Maura and Alex continued to make conversation while Jane chimed in occasionally, but mostly remained focused on wondering how her relationship with Alex could continue if her new job required her to move. Maura didn't feel as if she was forced to keep up the conversation. She was thankful to be given an opportunity to find out more about the woman who had stolen Jane's heart so many years ago. She learned that Alex studied criminology at BCU, and like Jane, had always wanted to become a detective. She learned that Alex was the youngest of four daughters and that both her parents were still alive and well, living in a quiet neighborhood in Boston. She learned that Jane had been the one to propose to Alex, which did not surprise her. Despite Jane's protest, Alex even told her the story of how Jane proposed. It had been at a New Years Eve party. Alex described the elegant black dress and pearl necklace Jane had worn that night. _The picture I found must have been taken the night they became engaged_. Maura was putting the pieces together as Alex continued to describe how Jane asked the most important question of her life.

"She didn't get down on one knee or anything, but she timed it perfectly. She waited until we were about to start counting down to midnight and pulled out this beauty!" Alex held up her left hand so Maura could inspect the ring. Maura knew the diamond was worth enough money to require Jane to save for months in advance in order to afford it. "As you probably know, Jay doesn't really have a way with words. She just held the ring up, flashed that grin that makes me melt every time I see it, and said 'let's get married, Alex.'" Maura noted that Alex seemed a bit disappointed in Jane's proposal, but she thought it suited the detective. Jane Rizzoli was a woman of action who did not reveal her emotions easily. Maura was sure that in Jane's mind, she had already proved her love to Alex and felt no need to suddenly profess how the woman made her feel during a proposal.

Just as the Alex was finishing up the story, Jane was relieved to get a call from Frost saying he'd made a break in their latest case. She welcomed the interruption before Alex could tell anymore stories about their relationship. It wasn't that she didn't want Maura to know about them. She just felt it wasn't the right time or place for them to talk about it. She gave Alex a peck on the cheek and walked with Maura back to the homicide unit.

xxx

Later that night, Maura thought about her first impression of Alex. She was certainly physically attractive. She stood about the same height as Maura, but her physical build lay on a spectrum somewhere between that of Maura and Jane's. She had curves, but she was also muscular. Her pale skin complimented her bright blue eyes and brown hair.

Her personality on the other hand seemed a bit obnoxious to Maura, but she couldn't exactly figure out why. Perhaps it was because she had seemed a little self-centered at lunch. She hadn't even taken the time to talk to Jane about plans she had made on her own, but fully expected Jane to be along for the ride. Maura also noticed that Jane didn't seem like she could be herself around Alex, which led her to hypothesize that Jane hadn't been that open with Alex either. She didn't want to admit it to Jane because it was clear that Jane had cared for and deeply loved Alex in the past, but Maura didn't believe this was the healthiest relationship.

Still, that did not stop her from believing that Jane could achieve true happiness again with Alex. She had seen it happen to other couples she had known. Not in these exact circumstances, but she had known for people to be torn apart for whatever reason and then reunited stronger than ever after a period of adjustment.

At Jane's apartment, the tensions were building between her and her fiancee. Alex wasted no time once they had entered the apartment to ask why she had been behaving so "weirdly" at dinner, and why she wasn't wearing her engagement ring.

"It's just a lot to take in, Alex. And I'm not wearing it because I wasn't sure if you still wanted to go through with the wedding after everything that's happened." Jane knew she hit a nerve with Alex with that last statement. She saw the shorter woman's body language become defensive as she braced herself for Alex's response.

"And why wouldn't I?" Her tone was flat, but seemed accusatory to Jane.

"I'm not saying you don't want to, I'm just saying I wasn't sure. You're starting a new job soon that you're probably going to have to move for. And I've changed a lot since you left. You and I have to get used to each other again. We've got a lot going on right now. I just want to make sure we both still want this despite how different things are now."

"The job isn't going to be a problem, Jane. I've already started looking at apartments for us in D.C." Jane's eyes shot up to look at Alex. She'd never wanted to leave Boston, and Alex knew that. At least she used to. Before starting another argument, Jane decided it was best to revisit that issue later. " _I_ know I want this, Jay. I just wish I knew you did." Alex started walking towards the bedroom, leaving Jane alone in the kitchen. Jane sighed and lifted her hands to cover her face before using the heel of her palms to rub her temples. She knew Alex had just given her a choice. She could walk in the bedroom and try to alleviate Alex's worries about their relationship, or she could crack open a beer and turn the Sox game on. She honestly didn't know how to be truthful with Alex _and_ make the situation better. She really didn't know if she still wanted to marry Alex. Sure, she loved her, and she would do anything for her, but it had only been one day and the last thing she wanted to do with Alex was spend the rest of her life with her. It seemed like Alex was still the same person from three years ago, but so much had happened to Jane she wasn't even sure if she should be with _anyone_ given her recent emotional state. Finally, Jane grew tired of weighing her options. She just wanted a moment of peace. She began following Alex's previous path to the bedroom and decided she would say whatever she had to in order for everything to be okay, if only for a night.

When she opened the door, she found Alex sitting on the bed cross-legged with tears brimming her eyes. Jane moved to sit in front of her. "Alex, what do I have to do for you to believe I still want you?" Alex looked up at Jane and placed her hand on Jane's knee. Her blue eyes searched Jane's intently although she was unsure of what she was looking for within them. Slowly, she leaned forward and closed the distance between them. Her lips lingered just above Jane's while the two women held eye contact. Jane knew this was her cue.

A scarred hand made its way to Alex's cheek and cupped it gently as Jane eliminated the small space that remained between them. Alex moaned quietly at the contact. The two shared a soft but long kiss. Jane began to pull away first, but Alex stopped her. She tangled her hand in Jane's messy curls and brought the detective back to meet her lips a second time. The second kiss was urgent as Alex expressed her need to feel Jane against her. She used her tongue to part Jane's lips, intensifying the passion between them. Jane became more responsive as the kiss continued. She was starting to feel like her old self again.

Without breaking contact, Jane wrapped her strong arms around Alex's waist and began to pick her up. She readjusted them so that she was now sitting on the edge of the bed with Alex straddling her with her legs wrapped around Jane's waist. Jane's fingers found their way to the hem of Alex's shirt and began to lift it up over her head. Her fingernails grazed Alex's ribcage as she removed the shirt. This had been a trick she picked up since Alex left, and she was proud to see that it still worked 100% of the time when she heard Alex's breath hitch as goosebumps developed on her pale skin.

After removing her own shirt, Jane began placing hot kisses along Alex's neck and collarbone while her left hand moved up to massage Alex's breasts. She gently nipped at the pale skin of Alex's chest eliciting a satisfied moan. Three years ago, they would have progressed at a much slower pace and with a much gentler touch. Now, there was an overwhelming sense of need between the two of them that seemed to negate their desire for perceived normalcy.

"I need you, Jay." Jane responded by standing Alex up only long enough to make quick work of removing her shorts and panties. They returned to their previous position as Jane place her right hand around Alex's back while her left reached down to feel just how wet she had made her girlfriend.

"Jay, please." Not wanting to make Alex wait any longer, Jane unclasped her bra and placed used her tongue to stimulate Alex's nipples. At the same time she slipped two fingers inside of Alex while she used her thumb to graze her clit. It didn't take long for Jane to feel Alex begin to clench around her fingers. Her nails dug into Jane's back as Jane began to pump her fingers faster. Suddenly, Alex threw her head back and gave a long, low moan as her legs trembled. She collapsed into Jane's arms where they remained for a moment before moving to lay down on the bed. Neither woman said anything for several minutes as they laid beside each other on the bed.

Their encounter left each of them with realizations to consider. Alex thought Jane might have been with other women after believing she had died, but now it was confirmed and she was curious just how many Jane had slept with within the time they had been apart. Jane on the other hand, realized she had just treated Alex exactly like the nameless women she had been casually sleeping with since her fiancee died. She replayed the events of the past ten minutes in her head over and over again. She recognized that she had remained in control of the situation, that she used her go-to, guaranteed-to-produce-an-orgasm moves, and that she hadn't allowed Alex to touch her. And then she realized that Alex hadn't even offered to.


	5. Chapter 5

**.**

 **A/N:** So a lot of you have asked this question, and I address it in the summary: Yes. There will be Rizzles. If I'm writing it, you can be your ass it's Rizzles. Also, lots of people don't like Alex. I get that! Neither do I! Patience, young grasshoppers. But we're getting there with this chapter, so stick with me, folks. I wouldn't let you down. Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles.

xxx

The next morning, Jane was already sitting at her kitchen island dressed for work and enjoying a bowl of Frosted Flakes with extra sugar when Alex sleepily appeared from the bedroom. Jane ended up sleeping on the couch cuddled with Jo Friday, but Alex hadn't seemed to notice. She glanced up at Alex to greet her.

"Morning. I made coffee if you want some."

"Are we gonna talk about those or not?" Jane followed Alex's blue eyes to her own hands. She sighed, knowing there was not an easy way to avoid the question now. She began to explain without looking up from her cereal.

"We were about to bust a murderer when I came up on what would have been his next victim. He knocked me out. When I came to, he had me tied down in his basement. He put a scalpel through each of my hands. He would've slit my throat if Korsak hadn't got there just in time." Her voice was expressionless. Alex reached up to wipe a tear before it had a chance to fall down her cheek. She wracked her brain for something to say to fill the uncomfortable void that fell between them. All that came to mind were more questions.

"When did it happen?"

"Well I got transferred to homicide about a month after you left. It happened a few months after I transferred. We just had our latest run in with him a couple of weeks ago. He had an accomplice who helped him escape prison. They kidnapped me-"

"Jane, oh my god!"

Jane waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. I shot the accomplice. Hoyt's back in jail. I'm okay. I was a mess, but I think I'm slowly becoming less of a mess. I've had a lot of good people to help me through it." Her voice remained quiet, and Alex could tell talking about the ordeal was something Jane wasn't used to.

"Like Maura?"

"Yeah, like Maura. Her, Korsak, Frankie, Ma.. when she's not nagging me anyway." The sound of Jane's phone interrupted them. She was called to a scene. She grabbed her coffee cup, gave Alex a quick kiss on the cheek and was out the door.

Jane found herself dialing Maura's number on the way to her car.

"Good morning, Jane! I was just about to leave my house and head to the crime scene. Is everything alright?"

"Not really.. Well, I mean yeah, everything's fine. I don't know why I said that. Anyway, I called to see if you maybe just wanted to ride with me?" Her voice got higher in pitch as she asked the question.

"That sounds lovely, Jane! You know, there is definitive evidence that carpooling to and from work significantly reduces-"

"Haven't had enough coffee for that yet, Maur. I'll see you in five."

Maura laughed at Jane's caffeine addiction. It was the same one she hounded her over, but this morning everything seemed lighter.

After arriving at Maura's, Jane began to step out of her car and walk towards the front door. She stopped when she noticed a man inside Maura's house. She paused, unsure if she should proceed towards the house. Just as she was about to take the next step and close the door of her car, Jane saw Maura approach the man and kiss him softly on the lips. _I am so not in the mood for this shit._

She made her way onto the porch and knocked three times - firmly and quickly. Maura opened the door only a few seconds later as the man stood behind her. Jane though he looked like a nice enough guy, but it was barely 8:00 in the morning. _Couldn't he keep it in his pants long enough to go to work? Well.. It was only a peck on the lips. But still, I'm sure Maura doesn't want that nasty morning breath of his on her._

"Hello, Jane! This is Jack. He's a professor. Jack this is my friend, Detective Jane Rizzoli. We're carpooling today." He extended his hand towards Jane to greet her, but Jane simply shoved her hands into her pockets and threw him a half-hearted "nice to meet ya." She still wasn't over her complex with shaking hands, and the conversation she and Alex had earlier that morning certainly wasn't helping matters.

"Well, I'd better get to work. Nice to meet you, Detective. I'll see you later, Maura." He leaned in for one more kiss, this time on her cheek, before heading out the door.

Jane gave Maura an expectant look, waiting for her to explain Jack's presence. Maura took the hint and started talking. "We met when I was giving guest lectures in an anatomy class. We hit it off immediately, but we've only been romantically involved for a couple of days. Last night was the first night he stayed over. I thought he would have left for work before you arrived or I would have told him about shaking hands. I'm sorry for that."

"Hey, no need to apologize, Maur. It's okay. I'm just a little touchy about it today, that's all. I didn't mean to offend him or anything. He seems like a nice enough guy." The two shared a smile before Jane's face took on a more serious, determined look. "But if does you wrong, I'll shoot him." She started to laugh at her own joke so that Maura would understand she was only kidding. It was a habit she quickly developed when she and Maura became friends and she realized that she didn't always understand sarcasm or her sense of humor.

"Well thank you for your offer, but I don't think I would want to leave his daughter to be fatherless no matter how he treats me."

"He has a kid?" Maura shut the door behind her and the two began making their way to Jane's car and then the crime scene.

"Yes. It doesn't bother me. I have no real expectations for how long our relationship will last, but if an appropriate time for me to meet her should present itself, I think I would be quite nervous."

"Oh come on, Maur. You'd have nothing to be nervous about!"

"Well... what if- no, never mind. It's silly." Maura looked out the window as Jane pressed her.

"No come on Maura, you hate it when I do that to you. Tell me. What's up?"

"I think Jack is someone I could develop a serious relationship with, and if that happens, it would be nice if his daughter liked me. What if she doesn't think I'm cool?"

"Not possible. Maura you are the only person in the world that I have ever known who can be a total dork but also the coolest person in the room at the same time. I mean that. You are _the_ coolest, and if some dumb kid doesn't see that then she's the lame one."

Maura laughed and gave Jane a big smile. "Thank you, Jane. How are things going with Alex?"

Jane let out a big puff of air through her nose and rolled her eyes. "They're not." She propped her right elbow up on the armrest between them and shifted so that only her left hand was steering the car. "I don't know how to do this with her. And I can't believe I'm even telling you this, but last night we... ya know," she raised her eyebrows so that Maura could detect her innuendo, "and it wasn't the same. It wasn't like I was with _her_ \- it was like I am when I'm with everyone else. Then this morning, she asked me about Hoyt as soon as she woke up. No 'good morning,' no 'how'd you sleep', nothing. Just 'hey what's up with your scars.'"

Maura was determined to help her friend. "Well first of all, Jane. It's perfectly normal for friends to discuss their sex lives, although I know it makes you uncomfortable. It sounds like you're just feeling very emotionally detached from her. But it also sounds like she's trying to rush you back into your old routines. That can be very unhealthy, Jane."

"Yeah... I know." She paused for a moment. "Thank you, Maur. You're a good friend."

xxx

A month had passed since Jane told Alex the story behind her scarred hands. Within that time, Alex had arranged for a meeting in D.C. to discuss her upcoming position, which was only three weeks away. She and Jane had fallen mostly back into their old routines. They started going back to their favorite restaurants and date destinations. They even started planning their wedding again. To Jane, everything but moving to D.C. was good enough at this point considering all they had to overcome as a couple. Meanwhile, Maura had formed a serious relationship with Jack, and his daughter thought she was just as cool as Jane said she would. Jane and Maura had become much closer within the past 30 days. So much closer that some of the detectives wondered if Jane was having an affair with Maura.

It was July 3rd. Alex had begun packing for her trip to D.C. while Jane sat on the sofa and yelled obscenities at a bad umpire on the television who couldn't hear a word she said. Maura was saying goodbye to Jack who was leaving for an annual camping trip with his daughter. After he left, she was feeling a little sad and thought calling Jane would cheer her up.

The phone in Jane's apartment began to ring. "Jay, please get that! It's probably your mom calling for the third time today," Alex said from the bedroom.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Excuse me?"

"Not you," Jane moved to pick up the phone. "Hello?"

 _"Hi, Jane."_

"You okay, Maur? Sounds like something's wrong."

 _"Nothing's wrong, I'm just a little sad that Jack left for his camping trip. It's selfish, I just wish I had more time to spend with him this week."_

"Well that's the job for ya. Sorry my detective work has been so awesome in finding things for you to test this week. I'll promise to do worse come Monday."

Maura was right about Jane being able to cheer her up. _"Jane, you should never apologize for being great at your job. Has Alex left to catch her flight yet?"_

"Nah, she's still packing. She'll have to leave soon though or she's gonna miss her flight. Hey, you wanna come over and listen to me curse at my television after she leaves?"

 _"If by that you mean watch baseball, yes, Jane. I would love to!"_

"Perfect! I'll order takeout for us. She's done packing, I gotta help her down with her bags. Come on over!"

 _"Okay, see you soon."_

xxx

When Jane heard a knock on the door, she knew immediately who it was. She opened the door to reveal her best friend with a six pack in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. Jane's smile grew wide.

"If we're going to have a girl's night, we have to do it the right way."

"Well I'm not one to argue with a doctor!" Jane took the items and placed them in the fridge while Maura began to sort out their takeout orders. They had developed a rhythm that was unlike anything either of them had known.

"Jane, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?" Jane carried their food to the living room and sat it on the coffee table while Maura followed behind with the a glass of wine and a bottle of beer.

"Well you and I have developed the best friendship I've ever had. Sometimes I'm just struck by how different we are, yet how we seem to know exactly what the other is thinking. Have you noticed that?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah. It's like we make up for what the other one lacks. You've helped me a lot with that, that's for sure."

"It's the yin and yang. In Chinese culture it represents two opposing forces that are actually complementary to each other."

"And here I thought it was just two guys who sang about shakin' it like a salt shaker." Maura looked blankly at Jane, confused by her reference. "Never mind, that's a song for another time."

An hour later, the Sox game had ended and Maura and Jane were a little loosened up by the alcohol. Maura was beginning to feel sleepy and had her head resting in Jane's lap as the rest of her body stretched the length of the couch. Jane held her beer in her right hand as the fingers of her left hand played with honey blonde hair. She didn't know the action would only put Maura to sleep faster and soon she realized her best friend's breathing had evened out and she had relaxed her full weight onto Jane's body and the couch.

Jane smiled and kept playing with Maura's hair as she flipped through the channels to find something else to watch. She finished her beer, but didn't move. _I don't know how the hell she manages to stay so gorgeous all the time._ Just then Jo Friday decided to join them on the couch, stepping all over Maura in the process, waking her from her peaceful sleep. Jane started to scold the dog, but Maura waved her hand sleepily to stop her. "She's fine, Jane! I think it's time for me to go home."

"You can't go home like this, Maura. You've had a little too much to drink."

"I'll call a cab," she yawned.

"Just stay here," Jane placed her hand on Maura's shoulder as the stood up from the couch. "You're exhausted. Just stay with me. Hell, spend the whole weekend here, I don't care."

"Okay!" Maura's eyes instantly widened. "Would it be inappropriate to ask to sleep in your bed though? My back is sore after falling asleep on that couch of yours."

"Well I'm going to ignore what you're saying about my _great_ couch and agree to let you stay in my bed."

The two walked together to Jane's bedroom. As Jane was taking off her watch and locking up her gun, she watched as Maura sorted through her closet for a big t-shirt to wear to bed. As she changed into her own pjs, a tank top and boy shorts, her eyes remained focused on Maura's body as she unbuttoned her shirt slowly, almost as if it was intentional. Jane's jaw went slack when Maura let her shorts fall to the floor. She stood in black matching underwear, and Jane had never seen anything as beautiful as the sight before her. She didn't blink as Maura brought the t-shirt over her head and let it fall around her arms and waist. She wanted to soak in every detail, even though she knew she shouldn't.

"Jane?"

"Huh? What?"

"I said which side would you like me to sleep on?"

 _Fuck.. did she see me staring? I hope not. That would be a disaster. She's pretty much the only person I ever get excited to spend time with anymore. Don't fuck this up, Rizzoli. Keep it in your pants for once._

"Uh, that one's fine." Jane swore she saw Maura smile shyly as she peeled the sheets back to crawl into bed.

"Jane, can I ask you another question? It's kind of personal so I understand if you don't want to answer."

"Maura you can ask me anything right now." And it wasn't even an exaggeration. Both women settled into the bed before Maura asked her question. They both laid on their backs, while Maura's fingers were intertwined resting on her stomach, and Jane propped her head up by placing a hand underneath it.

"How many women have you been with?"

"32." She barely spoke loud enough for Maura to hear her. "It's... a lot, I know."

"I don't judge your worth based on the number of sexual partners you've had, Jane. I simply wondered how experienced you were with women. You seem to have an air of confidence about you that is quite charming at times and nearly irresistible at others."

"Uh.. thanks," Jane chuckled, a little unsure of how to perceive the compliment.

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Maura's eyes became heavy once again and she fell asleep beside of Jane. Jane was beginning to experience more symptoms of the beer she drank, and carefully got up from the bed to use the bathroom without waking Maura. As she was drying her hands, she examined her features in the mirror. The bags under her eyes were less visible now than they had been in years. She was beginning to look more like her old self. She was finally at the point where she could go days on end without waking up screaming, covered in sweat from the nightmares that had tormented her. She was beginning to see the value in acknowledging her own emotions and expressing them. She attributed those positive changes to the woman currently asleep in her bed rather than the woman on her way to D.C. She had been more open and honest with Maura than she had been with Alex even before everything that happened. She finally realized that she needed Maura Isles in her life.

She began to feel a lump rise in her throat and watched her reflection as her dark brown eyes became watery, tears threatening to fall. For the first time in her life, she allowed them to fall freely from her eyes. It felt good. It felt like release. She looked down and examined her hands. The scars, she had become used to seeing, but it seemed foreign to have the weight of a ring on her left hand. She removed it and placed it on the counter next to the sink before looking up to meet her own gaze one more time. She wiped the traces of tears from her cheeks, sniffled her nose and turned to walk back into the bedroom.

Being as careful not to wake Maura as possible, she gently climbed back into the bed. Maura now lay on her side with her back to Jane. Jane wrapped a long arm around the other woman and pulled her in close so that there was no more space separating Maura's back from Jane's front. She rested her head on the pillow, breathing in the scent of Maura's blonde hair that was splayed out in front of Jane's face. This was all she needed, and she was happy with that.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Prepare yourselves. Rizzles are coming. Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles.

xxx

When Maura woke up the next morning, she found herself pulled tightly next to Jane with a strong pair of arms wrapped around her. She thought about getting up to make coffee, but instead decided on sleeping in a little longer. She had never felt so cared for. She found herself comparing Jane to Jack as she lightly caressed Jane's forearm with her index finger.

Jane actually did a lot of things Jack did for her. She held open doors, she carried her bags, she always put Maura first. Maura always believed love could be found in the little things. But she perceived each of their behaviors differently despite their similarities. To her, it seemed that Jack did those things because it was expected of him. But with Jane, she knew it was just a part of who she was. Early on in their friendship, Maura detected that there were a handful of people in Jane's life that she could really say she cared for; but when she loved, she loved deeply and purely. Therefore, the little things she did for Maura were second-nature. She never had to think about it like Jack did.

Carefully, Maura rolled over so that she was then facing Jane. She knew Jane was a heavy sleeper when they slept together. She had a lot of interrupted nights to make up for, and that manifested when Maura was by her side through the night. Jane began to snore softly, and Maura had to fight back her laughter. She studied Jane's features. It was a rare sight to see her in such a relaxed state. The sunlight shone through the blinds and illuminated Jane's sharp features. Maura always thought Jane was gorgeous, but in this light, she thought she was the most beautiful version of herself. She continued to study every minute detail of Jane's face as she slept. She noticed the rapid eye movement behind her eyelids and knew she must be dreaming something. Whatever it was, she was just happy it wasn't about Hoyt. The corner of Jane's mouth began to curve up into a slight smile, causing Maura to do the same. She wrapped her own arms around Jane's waist and buried her head in Jane's chest, taking in a deep breath of lavender. Her eyelashes gently brushed the bare skin on Jane's chest, causing her to stir.

"Mmmm... Maura?" Jane lifted her head off the pillow and tried through squinted eyes to see if her best friend was awake.

"Yes, Jane?"

"You okay?"

"I'm perfect."

"Well me too, except for that damn sun coming through the window." Reluctantly, she got up from the bed to turn the blinds before plopping back down on her stomach so that her face was buried in a pillow next to Maura.

"Jane Rizzoli, it is 9:00 in the morning! I had no idea we slept that late."

"Well hey, most people loose track of time when they're around me all night." Jane raised her head to give Maura a wicked grin and a wink.

Maura threw her head back to laugh as she got up from the bed, slapping Jane on the arm in the process. "Don't flatter yourself!" Jane always liked to see the playful side of Maura.

The two made their way to the kitchen and began cooking breakfast together. As Jane was pouring herself a cup of instant coffee, she asked Maura if she had any big plans for the day since it was the 4th of July.

"Well the only person I would have plans with is pouring herself a disgusting cup of instant coffee because she's too impatient to make _real_ coffee. So you tell me, Jane. Do I have plans today?"

"Don't knock it till you try it, Maur. And since that's the case, yes. You do. You're coming with me to Ma's for a barbecue. Frankie, Tommy, Lydia, and TJ will be there. It'll be fun. Then we'll watch the fireworks tonight. How's that sound?"

Maura was smiling from ear to ear. "It sounds lovely, Jane."

xxx

When they arrived at Angela's, Frankie and Tommy were already playing basketball in the driveway. As soon as Jane stepped out of the car, she heard Frankie lining up the new teams.

"I call Jane! Maura, you playing?"

"Well, I'm not really dressed appropriately for a game of basketball, but if Jane or Angela would be kind enough to lend me some clothes and tennis shoes, I'd be happy to join!"

"Perfect - Tommy, you got Maura."

Tommy's eyes grew wide, "Oh I can definitely deal with that!"

Jane cut her eyes at Tommy as she and Maura walked onto the porch. "Heard that little brother. Keep your damn hands to yourself. And for Christ's sake, your wife and child are right inside the house. Grow up, already."

Maura had already let herself in the house and had greeted Angela by the time Jane caught up. "Jane Clementine Rizzoli! You are-"

"Only five minutes later than I said I was gonna be, Ma. Is Pop grilling out back?"

"Yes, and Maura don't worry we thought you might come with Janie, so we've got a turkey burger for you since I know you eat a lot healthier than Jane."

"Thanks very thoughtful of you, Angela. Thank you."

Jane had already disappeared to find TJ. Maura followed the sound of her voice as Jane cooed while she held the baby. He was getting a little bigger now, and would turn one soon. Maura entered the living room as Jane was sitting down on the couch, holding TJ up and blowing on his belly to make him laugh hysterically. She joined them on the couch.

"You know, Jane, for someone who doesn't want children, you're very good with them. I'd even say you're maternal."

Jane shot her friend a look. "No wonder my mother likes you so much. You wanna hold him? My arms are killing me. I don't know what they're feeding this kid, but I think they need to slow down."

Maura took TJ from her and sat him in her lap, readjusting his shirt that Jane had wrinkled. "Jane, he's actually a healthy weight for a child his age. Maybe you should just work out more."

Jane laughed, "Maura Isles, I don't know what has gotten into you today, but I love it." They remained in silence for a few moments before Jane spoke again.

"Maura you're gonna make a great mom one day."

Angela reappeared from the kitchen and requested their help with the side dishes. Maura handed TJ back to Lydia and followed Jane. Angela asked Maura to help with the salad and Jane to help with the twice baked potatoes. As Jane reached across Angela to grab a spoon, her mother noticed there was something missing.

"Jane," she tried speaking softly so that only Jane would be able to hear her, "why aren't you wearing your engagement ring? Is everything alright with Alex?"

Jane sighed and considered for a moment how she should answer the question. She had been playing everything up to Angela like her relationship with Alex was continuing without a hitch, but she didn't feel like putting up any fronts today.

"Everything hasn't been fine since she got back, Ma. I just didn't feel like wearing it today. We've got a lot of things we need to work out."

"Well are you still going through with the wedding?" Angela's voice was now back to its normal volume, and Maura's eyes shot up at the question, waiting to see how Jane would react. This had been something that she wondered for a while, and Jane was always honest at expressing her doubts. But this time the question was asked, Maura had a pang of hope that Jane would offer a final and definitive 'no.' The fact that she hoped for that made her feel guilty for wishing such a thing when it came to Jane, but mostly she wondered why she could hope for such a thing in the first place.

Jane looked down at the potatoes in front of her and began to play with her hands. "You're not going to, are you?" Angela pressed on. Jane finally looked up, but her eyes landed on Maura instead of her mother. "I don't think I am." Her voice was barely above a whisper. As their eyes met each other, Maura felt a flood of emotions come over her. _Oh no. I'm in love with Jane Rizzoli._

"Well does Alex even know that you're planning _not_ to marry her?" There was no telling Angela Rizzoli to calm down in situations like this. She wanted answers, and she was determined to get them.

"No, Ma. I'm gonna tell her when she gets back. Feels a little harsh to do it over the phone while she's gotta put on a good face for her future employers over the next few days."

Maura hadn't heard any of the conversation that continued between Jane and her mother. Her mind was racing as her hands continued chopping lettuce. In hindsight, maybe she should have put the knife down for a minute.

"Dammit!" Angela and Jane whirled around to face Maura.

"Oh, but _I_ can't say it? That's just not fair." Maura glared at Jane.

Angela immediately grabbed a paper towel and handed it to Maura to stop the bleeding. It was only a small cut, but it bled for what seemed like forever. Jane put her hand on the small of Maura's back and led her to the bathroom so she could clean up. She helped Maura rinse the blood off her finger, clean the cut, and put a bandage on it. When Jane finished wrapping the bandage around Maura's thin finger, she placed a quick and soft kiss on it.

"There. All better." Maura blushed at the gesture, and looked shyly at the floor. "Maur, you okay? I saw you kinda zone out in there. Did I say something? Ugh, did Ma say something?"

"No, no Jane, it's nothing like that. I just...You helped me realize something." She really hated herself for not being able to lie in that moment. Jane silently waited for her to elaborate. "I don't think I want to be with Jack anymore."

"Oh, Maur. I hope this doesn't have anything to do with me breaking things off with Alex."

"Well not directly, no. I-I'm glad you have realized that you deserve more than what she gives you. And I think I've come to see that I deserve better than what Jack can give me as well." _And I know we deserve each other, and I hope you feel that too._

Jane pulled her into a loving hug, and Maura melted into the embrace. Jane placed another soft kiss on the her forehead, and she was thankful another blush was covered by her face being buried in Jane's chest. "Look, Maur, I just want you to be happy. You deserve the absolute best that anyone could give you. If it isn't Jack, it isn't Jack. But whoever you end up with better be prepared to offer you the world, because that's what you're worth." Jane felt her t-shirt become hot and damp. She pulled back to see Maura's eyes filled with tears. Her first thought was that she said something to upset her, and she started to apologize. Maura shook her head and placed her hand on Jane's arm to stop her from saying anything else.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Jane. That's the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me." Another tear fell from her cheek. Jane reached up to wipe it away with her thumb.

"I'll tell ya that every day for the rest of our lives if I need to," and both of them knew Jane was being completely serious. "But just to be clear - am I shooting Jack, or not?" Maura began to laugh. She would always be amazed at how Jane could sense when she needed a laugh, or to be reassured, or to be told she was worth it.

"No, Jane. You are _not_ shooting him." She smiled despite the serious tone of her voice.

"Damn. I mean, uh.. shoot! Nope that's a poor choice of words. Darn it! There we go." Maura laughed even harder as she shook her head at Jane. "I'll let you get cleaned up, Maur. The food should be almost done. Just come out whenever you're ready." She gave Maura one more soft smile before she exited the bathroom.

The rest of the evening went on as expected. TJ was passed around a lot, mostly between Maura and Jane. The boys, Jane, and their father watched the Sox game while Maura mentally calculated her estimates for how fast and at what angle the batter would need to swing in order to get a hit off Clay Buchholz. Angela looked on happily as her family argued over who was the best home run hitter in the league. Mostly, she paid attention to how Maura and Jane interacted with each other. She took in how Jane draped her arm over the couch behind Maura, and how Maura snuck glances at Jane throughout the game. She was happy that Jane finally found a friend, but she couldn't help but wonder if they were a little more than that. She knew Jane would never cheat on Alex no matter how bad things were, but she couldn't deny there had to be something behind the way they looked at each other. Her opportunity to ask Jane about their relationship presented itself in the form of Jane walking towards the kitchen to get another beer.

"Janie.."

"If I tell you 'no, you cannot ask me,' will it make a difference?"

"You know me better than that."

Jane huffed, and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Out with it, then."

"Does the reason you're not marrying Alex have anything to do with Maura?"

"What?" Jane was genuinely surprised by the question, and considered the various feelings she had been having about Maura lately, she became a little defensive. "No, Ma. I can't believe you would even say that. Why would you ask me that?"

"Janie, I'm not blind. I see how you two look at each other. There's something there. It's always been difficult for me to tell how you feel about someone, but I can tell you that girl in there _loves_ you. And I don't know if you feel the same way about her, but I think maybe you do because I've never seen you this happy. The past three years have been so hard on you, Janie. You deserve someone who cares about you as much as Maura does."

Jane sighed and sounded defeated. "Look, Ma, it's not like I haven't thought about it. But she has a boyfriend. I mean, she told me tonight that she's gonna dump him, but she's only ever been with guys. Don't really think I have a shot there. And she'd never like me like that anyway. She's better than me."

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli, I don't ever wanna hear you say that again." Her words were quiet enough that she couldn't be heard from the living room, but stern enough for Jane to get her point. "I know I wasn't always the most supportive mother to you. And I know it took me a lot longer to be okay with you liking women than I'd like to admit. But there's something special between you two. Just promise me you're gonna keep her around. Girlfriend or not, she makes you happier than anybody else you've ever been with."

"I'm gonna do my best, Ma." She gave her mother a smile before heading back to reclaim her seat on the sofa beside Maura.

Once it was finally dark enough to see fireworks, everyone but Jane and Maura headed outside to light sparklers and sit around the fire pit. Jane led Maura up to her old bedroom. The walls were covered in sports posters, and the bed sheets were navy blue. Maura stood still as she took in the space where Jane Rizzoli grew up. She walked over to a shelf that held several trophies. "Wow, Jane. You were an MVP in three different sports?"

Jane was standing next to her bedroom window, trying to loosen its sticky locks. "Yeah, I used to be kind of a big deal." Maura smiled and turned towards Jane.

"You're still a big deal."

Just then Jane successfully jerked the locks loose, and opened the window. She raised her leg to step out of it.

"Jane! What are you doing?"

"You wanted to see fireworks! Come on. I used to sneak out by crawling out of this window and hopping off the roof. It isn't that big of a drop on the other side of the house. I come out here every year to sit on the roof and watch the fireworks."

Maura hesitated only for a moment, but Jane still noticed. She proceeded to climb completely out the window and hold her hands out towards Maura who was still standing inside. "Come on, I got you. I promise not to shove you off the side." She gave Maura a mischievous grin before she felt a smaller pair of hands grab onto her own. She helped Maura through the window, and sat so that if anyone was going to fall off, it would be herself. Just as they situated themselves with their backs leaning against the house, the first firework exploded in the sky.

"Jane, it's beautiful up here." Maura's eyes were fixated on the sky, but Jane's studied the woman beside of her, taking in how her face looked illuminated by the different colors.

"I've never brought anybody up here before you."

"Well, I'm honored to be your guest."

Fireworks continued to explode above them. Jane started to fidget with her hands. She wanted to use this opportunity of having Maura alone to gauge the boundaries of their relationship. Angela's words had been ringing in her mind from the moment they landed on her ears.

"Hey, Maur can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Does it bother you, what people say about us at the precinct?"

"You mean that you and I are a couple?"

"Yeah.."

"Well it certainly doesn't bother me that they believe you and I are together. I think you're the finest detective in all of Massachusetts. You're incredibly intelligent, you always know how to make me laugh, and not to mention how gorgeous you are." Jane was beginning to blush. "What bothers me is that they think you would stoop so low to cheat on your current fiancee. They should know you are a woman of incredible integrity. Why do you ask?"

"Uh.. no reason. I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable. Can I ask you something else?"

"Of course."

"Have you ever been with a woman before?"

"Yes."

Jane swore her jaw hit the floor when Maura answered. "What? Really?"

"Sure! I dated a woman for about a year while I was in college."

"What happened.. I mean, if I can ask?"

"You can ask me anything, Jane. She got back together with her ex. There were no hard feelings. We both understood that it would have made her happier than being with me. I suspected it would happen anyway."

"Well she's still an idiot. Why have you never mentioned this to me before?"

"I just assumed you knew I was attracted to people for who they are individually as opposed to a specific gender. I wasn't trying to keep that from you, Jane. I hope you know that."

"Maur, it's fine, I promise. I'm just.. surprised is all." Jane was relieved, but just as she started to speak again, a loud popping sound only six inches from her nearly scared her off the roof. She stood up with impressive balance on the roof and looked around to find the source of the firecracker that had just been thrown at her. Her angry eyes landed on Tommy who stood below her with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Hey, Janie. Sorry to interrupt your makeout session." With that, he ran back around to the other side of the house.

"Tommy! We were not- Ugh! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Maura was sure the whole neighborhood could hear her, but she laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Even though they fought all the time, she wished she had siblings to share those moments with. She was grateful that she had been accepted as part of the Rizzoli family. Jane had already climbed back inside the window, and was holding her hands out again to assist Maura. Once she was safely inside the house, Jane slammed the window shut and locked it before she bolted down the stairs to get her revenge on Tommy. Maura sat down on Jane's bed and laughed as she listened to the sounds of the Tommy pleading for Jane to let him go while Frankie laughed hysterically.

 _I am so in love with Jane Rizzoli._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Sexy times ahead. You've been warned. Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli & Isles.

xxx

The rest of their weekend together had been the most fun that Maura and Jane had had in a long time. They didn't do anything that spectacular, but just spending time together was enough for them. Jane taught Maura the Rizzoli lasagna recipe, and in true Maura Isles fashion, she ended up making it taste even better. Jane was beginning to see that everything could be made better by Maura.

Maura had called Jack the night of the Rizzoli 4th of July gathering, and he had taken the break-up as well as could have been expected. Jane still hadn't broken things off with Alex, but she planned to later tonight when she returned from D.C. Maura had continued to stay with Jane in her apartment while Alex was gone. Monday morning, they woke up early to go for a run together. When they arrived back at the apartment, the two began making breakfast together - a routine they had developed over the course of the past few days. Jane found herself continuously comparing Maura to Alex. _See, this is how I imagined life would be with Alex. Who would have thought I would rather make breakfast with Maura than make love to my girlfriend. But doing either of those things with Maura sounds good. Wait, what?_

Just then, Jo Friday turned to face the door and began to bark. Jane instantly went into detective-mode and looked through the peep hole to find Alex standing on the other side fumbling with her keys. Jane rushed back to the kitchen and quietly told Maura what was going on.

"Just let me do the talking, okay?" Maura nodded just as Alex finally opened the door.

"Hey, Jay! I thought I would surprise you by heading home early," her eyes moved from Jane to land on the other woman currently making breakfast in her fiancee's kitchen. "Maura. Hello. How are you?" Her tone immediately became more hostile.

"Just fine, Alex. Jane and I were a little hungry after our run this morning," she gestured to the turkey bacon. "I can make some for you as well, I'm sure you're hungry from your flight."

"Actually, that's okay. Food is actually the last thing on my mind right now. Jane, would you help me to our bedroom with my bags?" Jane gave Maura a reassuring look before assisting Alex.

Once they reached the bedroom, Alex immediately unleashed her jealousy on Jane. She accused Jane of having cheated on her with Maura. Jane began to tell her that she had not, in fact, cheated on her at all. Jane tried to calm her down, but there was no point.

"I can't believe _her_ , of all people, Jane!"

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"You're gonna sleep with that walking dictionary? Come on Jane, you could do a little better than that, don't ya think?" Jane started to get angry, but she didn't want to raise her voice match Alex's volume. Alex was starting to walk out of the bedroom, when Jane grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Like I said earlier, we didn't sleep together. First of all, you don't ever get to talk bad about Maura." Maura was actually on her way out of Jane's apartment, but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Jane mention her. "She's the kindest person to ever walk this earth. She's definitely a better person than you. And unlike you, she actually gives a damn about what I want. She doesn't try to change me or 'fix' me. She doesn't think I'm broken, unlike you. You think I don't notice how you never want to touch me? You think I don't see disgust written all over your face when one of these touches you?" She held up her hands between them. Alex was now looking at the floor. "I was going to try to go about this in a decent and respectful way, but you're making that really hard to do considering how you're acting. I'm not moving to D.C. with you. I'm not gonna marry you, Alex. We're done." Jane walked back into the bedroom to pick up Alex's bags again. This time, she walked them to the door and sat them down. "You can go now."

"I can't fucking believe you. I'm the best thing you're ever gonna get. You're damaged goods, Jane Rizzoli." Alex picked up the bags as Jane opened the door for her to leave.

She shut and locked it, then closed her eyes as she turned around and leaned against the door. After letting out a long sigh, she slowly opened them to see Maura Isles standing in front of her. Maura reached down to hold Jane's hands. Jane's eyes looked down to stare at the source of their contact. Maura had begun unconsciously massaging Jane's hands to comfort her. "Jane," her voice was barely audible. Dark brown eyes darted up once more at the sound of Maura's voice, permitting her to continue speaking. "You're not damaged goods."

Jane felt paralyzed. _She knows. She just always knows. I don't know how she does it, but she knows exactly what I need to hear and when I need to hear it._ Suddenly she was overcome with a burst of courage and possibly foolishness. Jane quickly closed the distance between them, brought her hand up to the left side of Maura's face, and planted a soft but passionate kiss on her pink lips. Maura froze for a second, but didn't waste much time before she began to lift her arms to wrap them around Jane's neck and pull her in even closer, deepening the kiss. Neither of them knew how long it lasted, but when Jane pulled back, both of them were left breathless with flushed cheeks.

Jane's head swam as she searched for the words she knew she needed to say. "Maura. I-I'm sorry. Actually I'm not. I'm not sorry. I just.. I need you to know that you mean more to me than anything in the world. I honestly don't know how the hell I lived without you for so long, and I definitely don't know how I managed to dislike you for as long as I did." She laughed a little, still trying to catch her breath, but also trying to get out everything she needed to say before her episode of bravery dwindled. "You've taught me how to be a better person. And I find myself wanting to be a better person for you. I mean, I watched three documentaries by _myself_ just so I could impress you. I never feel like I have to pretend to be something I'm not when I'm with you. I know you'll accept me as I am. I love you, Maura Isles. And if you don't feel the same, that's okay and I hope we can just go on like I didn't just say everything I said. But you deserve to know that's how I feel about you. And you should also know I'm happy to spend the rest of our lives trying to prove it to you."

Maura knew every word Jane said was the truth. She felt tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she started to speak. "Nothing would make me happier, Jane. I love you too." She lifted her head to kiss Jane again, this one even sweeter than the last. Jane couldn't seem to get enough and tangled her hands in honey blonde hair while pulling them closer to one another. Maura's hands began to roam across Jane's back and trailed down to boney hips while her tongue parted Jane's lips. Jane moaned softly when she tasted Maura's tongue. Maura began to back Jane up against the door, and when she reached her destination, she felt Jane's hands play with the hem of her tank top. Maura finally broke the kiss and began trailing wet kisses down the length of Jane's neck while her left hand brought Jane's hands to rest on her bare stomach granting her permission to break the barrier of her shirt.

Jane was breathless once again. "Maur, should we stop?"

"Only - if you - want to." Maura answered between nipping at Jane's collarbone through her shirt.

Jane's eyes looked up at the ceiling. "I just - I don't wanna mess this up. I wanna do this the right way."

Maura pulled away from Jane to look into her eyes sincerely. "Jane, we can go as slow or as fast as you are comfortable with. There's nothing you could do to mess this up. I'm right here. I want this. I want you." At this, Jane took Maura's hand and led her to the bedroom. Once inside, she pressed another kiss to Maura's lips. Maura's hands began to raise Jane's shirt. Her eyes asked Jane if that was alright. Jane nodded. Maura stood for a moment to admire the sight in front of her. She noticed Jane began to squirm as she stared at her. "You're so beautiful, Jane." She began to place soft kisses on Jane's bare chest above the her sports bra. Jane relaxed at her reassuring touch and became less self conscious of her lanky frame. _She always knows what to say._

Maura lowered them onto the bed and crawled on top of Jane to continue kissing her all over her body. Jane's hands lifted Maura's pink tank top off and threw it on the ground. "Gotta even the score," she shrugged and smirked at Maura who laughed as she brought her lips back to Jane's. When she pulled away she had a more serious look on her face. "I want to take care of you, Jane."

Jane didn't respond verbally, but nodded slightly. Maura moved down on the bed to remove Jane's running shorts before trailing kisses from the hem of her underwear all the way back up her stomach and chest. When her lips recaptured Jane's, she raised Jane off the bed to remove her sports bra before lowering her back down so that she could place her lips around Jane's left nipple.

"Oh god, Maura." Jane felt Maura smile against her breast as her tongue continued to flick across her nipple. After a few moments, Maura moved to Jane's right breast to repeat the same actions. Jane was already turned on at the sight of Maura in a bra, and she was sure after Maura's latest stunt, her panties were soaked. At that moment, Maura placed a hand on the inside of Jane's thigh and began to massage it while she came up to kiss Jane once more. Again, Maura's eyes seemed to ask for permission and Jane nodded against her forehead. Initially, Maura lightly stroked Jane through her panties, but it only took a few strokes for the wetness to reach Maura's fingers through the fabric.

She moved down on the bed once more so that she knelt between Jane's legs. She brought her hands up to remove Jane's panties slowly, then leaned in to place kisses along Jane's folds. This elicited a raspy moan from Jane as scarred hand reached down to tangle its fingers with Maura's. Maura tongue found its way to Jane's clit and began to circle it slowly. "Holy shit, Maur," Jane was panting.

Maura began to increase her pace as Jane's breathing became more erratic. Suddenly Jane's other hand shot down to grab Maura's arm. "No, Maur. Together." She motioned for Maura to come back up and kiss her. Once their lips met, Jane removed Maura's spandex capris and underwear and didn't even look to see where ended up after throwing them across the room. She quickly flipped them over so that she was then situated above Maura. She removed the other woman's bra and mimicked the treatment she received earlier as she gently sucked on Maura's breast while her left hand found its way to Maura's core. She began to slowly massage Maura's clitoris with the pads of her index and middle fingers as Maura's own hand resumed its previous position between Jane's legs.

Both women moaned as Jane began to flick Maura's clitoris, causing Maura's hips to jerk. They knew each other wouldn't last much longer. Jane brought her lips back to Maura's for another passionate kiss before slipping a finger between Maura's wet folds. "Mmm Jane.." Each increased her pace with the other as Jane began to feel Maura's muscles tighten around her finger. She slid one more in, causing Maura's free hand to shoot out and grip the sheets while she elicited another husky moan. Her legs began to tremble as she bucked her hips.

"Jesus, Maura." Her breathing had become ragged. Jane felt herself on the verge of what she knew was going to be one hell of an orgasm when Maura screamed her name, sending her over the edge. They allowed each other to ride it out before Jane collapsed beside of Maura and placed her arms around the smaller woman. She placed a light kiss on Maura's forehead.

The two remained silent as their breath returned to its normal rhythm. Jane felt tears stinging her eyes. _This is how it should be._ Just then, Maura lifted her hand to place a kiss on one of her scars. _She always knows._

xxx

After they had dressed and showered, Jane finally found her phone which had somehow ended up under the bed. _3 missed calls from Korsak. Perfect._ She dialed his number, and brought the phone to her ear.

"Jane! Where the hell have you been, I've been trying to call you and Maura all morning."

"We went for a run and left our phones in my apartment. I'm sorry, it was dumb, and it won't happen again."

"Well we've got a body that was found by the docks this morning. Crime techs have already taken photos and collected evidence. The body's being transported to the morgue now. Let Maura know, will ya?"

"Sure thing, Korsak."

Maura emerged from the bathroom looking just as poised as always. She had brought some work clothes with her in case they were called in about a case over her weekend with Jane. "Was that Detective Korsak?"

"Yep. Body's on its way to the morgue now."

"Today is already shaping up to be a wonderful day! First you tell me you love me, then we have mind blowing sex, now I get to do an autopsy!" Maura brought her hands together and clapped them together to show her excitement.

Jane smiled widely at the woman in front of her and wrapped her arm around her waist as she started to lead them out the door of the apartment. "I can't even make fun of you for being a nerd because you're so adorable right now."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Sorry it's been forever since I've updated this story, but updates should be back to a regular schedule! Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli & Isles.

xxx

When the duo arrived at the precinct, Jane was immediately intercepted by Frost before she could enter the homicide unit.

"Come on, Frost, I'm not in the mood for questions. Move please so I can get started on this case."

"Jane, you're not on this case."

"What the hell do you mean I'm not on this case? Korsak!" She saw her old partner making his way to his desk, and dodged Frost so that she could investigate the situation further. Before she reached him, Korsak began to raise his hands in protest to the questions and accusations he knew were about to come flying out of her mouth. Maura was still by her side, but hadn't yet felt it was appropriate for her to reason with Jane. She knew the brunette needed to release some of that fiery Italian energy before anything the doctor could say would get through to her. Maura waited patiently for the right time to intervene while Jane obnoxiously waved her hands around, offering the perfect visual to accompany her tone. As Maura took in the surroundings of the precinct, she noticed someone who looked very familiar being led down the hall in handcuffs by two uniformed officers. _Now_ she needed to speak.

"Jane..."

The detective was unable to hear her because she was still ranting to Korsak about how they had no right to pull her from the case.

"Jane." She spoke a little louder, with a firmer tone this time. Still nothing.

"Jane!" Black curls whirled around as Jane quickly turned to face Maura.

"What?!" One look at Maura and she knew she shouldn't have taken it out on her. "Dammit.. I'm sorry. What is it?" She shook her head and rubbed her temples with the thumb and index finger of her left hand.

"I think what detectives Korsak and Frost were trying to tell you is that the suspect is your ex-fiancee. I just saw two officers leading Alex down the hallway in handcuffs towards an interrogation room."

Jane stood still, looking at Maura with a blank expression for a moment before turning back to Korsak. "You gotta be shitting me. She couldn't have done this, she was in D.C. all weekend! You gotta let her go. Her alibi's solid."

"Janie, I wish it were that easy. Found her prints on a gun that was left near the scene. Waiting on the lab to determine if the bullet lodged in his chest matches that gun." Jane flashed a pleading look towards Maura.

No verbal communication was necessary. Maura stepped closer to Jane and placed her hand on the detective's forearm to comfort her. "I'm on it, Jane. I'll have an answer for you within the hour granted the crime techs have done their job efficiently thus far." Jane gave her a small smile and dark brown eyes offered an unspoken 'thank you.'

Once Maura turned and headed for the lab, Frost took the opportunity to lead Jane to a more private place to discuss the details of the case. When they entered an empty interrogation room, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic ziplock bag with a diamond logo stamped on it. Jane recognized the baggie and immediately grabbed it from Frost, her eyes were full of questions she already knew the answers to.

"This can't be possible, Frost. The Dealer was murdered in D.C. a couple of months ago. This has to be old."

"Jane, it can't be that old for it to be in this good of condition. Raphael says the coke that was found inside of it was definitely top of the line. Think about it, The Dealer hasn't been in Boston since all that went down with Alex years ago. This baggie couldn't have survived all that time in this good of shape; and even if it did, what are the odds that it would just happen to wash up at our homicide scene?"

Jane couldn't offer any logical rebuttal. Frost was right, as much as she hated to admit it in that moment. She kept her eyes focused on the baggie, which she now held in her left hand while her eyes studied it as if it could offer her all the answers she needed.

"How long before this case gets kicked to the drug unit?"

"Until we prove that it's definitely a drug-related murder."

"Good. I'll let Maura know."

xxx

Jane entered the morgue a few hours later to find Maura dressed in black scrubs with that goofy lamp and those dorky glasses strapped to her head, leaning over the victim examining every detail. Despite how terrible her work day had gone so far, just seeing Maura that invested in her work was enough to make Jane smile. Of course, it helped that she was wearing the black scrubs. Those were always Jane's favorite.

Without looking up from the body, Maura greeted Jane. "You should learn to walk without dragging your feet. That's why you have such poor posture." She looked up to smile at Jane.

Jane was too concerned with trying to accept that her ex-fiancee might be a murderer to offer a witty reply to Maura's comment, so she simply returned a warm smile of her own.

"Got anything for me yet?"

"Pertaining to the case or otherwise?" Maura gave her a mischievous grin.

"The case, Maur... for now." Maura smiled at a glimpse of Jane's personality shining through in spite of the difficult situation she found herself in.

"In that case, yes." She began walking toward two baggies similar to the one Frost showed Jane earlier. "These tiny plastic bags were found at the crime scene. The one on the left was found in the victim's clothing. The one on the right was found at the scene like the one I'm sure Frost has shown you by now." Jane studied the two baggies on display.

"Wait a minute. This one on the left... the diamond has different markings than the one on the right."

"...which is precisely what I was about to say!" Jane loved when Maura showed that much enthusiasm about a case. It was refreshing to her to know that someone else got such a thrill over cracking a case and connecting the dots.

"So are you saying we've got a copycat dealer trying to pass off his drugs as The Dealer's?"

"I wouldn't quite speculate that, Jane. The markings on the victim's baggie are different than the one on the right, but all the others are identical."

"So we've got two competing copycats. Got it." Jane began to turn and leave the morgue, satisfied with Maura's findings so far, but Maura spoke up to stop her.

"Jane this isn't a copycat. I compared the markings to the original seal on The Dealer's baggies. It's a perfect match. Also, there was only a trace of cocaine in original baggies. The rest were never used, but appeared to have been scattered around the crime scene-"

"-to send a message." Maura watched as the figurative wheels turned in Jane's head. Jane gave a slight nod, as if to reassure herself of the theory that had just been formulated. She stepped closer to the doctor, placed her hand on the back of Maura's neck and gave a chaste kiss to her forehead before leaving the morgue.

xxx

That afternoon, Jane and Maura were already exhausted from trying to determine a solid connection between Alex and the murder. They sat in the coffee shop while Angela served them coffee, tea, and sandwiches for a late lunch. Maura had been meaning to ask Jane how she was doing with Alex being held in police custody, but she already knew. She could see it on Jane's face. She was confused, and she felt betrayed and angry and she wasn't sure why. That bothered Jane because she never felt angry for no reason. Sure, she got mad easily, but it was always for a reason. She knew there had to be something behind all of this, but the fact that she couldn't quite put her finger on it yet bothered her. Maura could see all of this, and Jane recognized it.

"Girls do you need anything else?" Angela's voice brought them out of the comfortable silence they shared.

"Yeah, a new round of crime techs that will do their job the first time they're asked." Jane's voice rose as she became more enthusiastic in describing how incompetent the crime techs were. "I mean honestly, who 'forgets' to check in with ballistics? Seriously?" She let out a big puff of air through her nose and took another sip of coffee.

"To answer your question, Angela, I'm fine. Thank you though." Maura smiled at Angela as if to apologize for Jane's outburst. Stanley called Angela back to the register, and Maura took that opportunity to lighten the conversation and discuss something that had been weighing on her mind throughout the day.

"Jane, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, Maur."

"Would you consider us to be a couple?"

Jane's face turned red, prompting Maura to believe she had said something wrong. "I'm sorry - I shouldn't have brought it up. Just forget I said anything. We don't have to be if you don't wa-"

Jane placed her hands on top of Maura's giving them a soft squeeze of reassurance. Her signature Jane Rizzoli grin began to make its way across her lips. "Yes. I would consider us to be a couple. I just didn't think I had to say it. Not that I mind saying it. I just thought you knew." Her voice grew softer as she spoke. She realized Maura was slightly embarrassed at her ineptitude in reading social cues, especially ones as important as this. Not wanting her girlfriend to feel ashamed, she continued, "I should have told you what I wanted out of this. I should have been more clear. But this all has happened kinda fast. I'll do better next time." Maura looked into dark brown eyes, knowing it was the truth.

Just then, Maura's phone began to buzz. Jane looked at her expectantly.

"The ballistics results for Alex's gun came back. It's a match."

xxx

"Frost I'm not asking. Let me talk to her. _Now_." Jane was pacing outside Alex's interrogation room with a set jaw and clenched fists.

"Jane, she asked for a lawyer! Even if you weren't banned from this case, I still wouldn't be able to let you talk to her. You know that!" Jane didn't reply, but kept pacing back and forth. Back and forth. Frost knew this meant she was thinking of some kind of plan to inevitably have her way.

"Okay. Here's what we'll do. You interrogate her once her attorney gets here." _There it is,_ Frost though. "I'm gonna give you a list of questions to ask." She sat down and began to write questions down on a legal pad.

"She's barely said a word since we brought her in. What makes you think she's gonna talk?"

"Well what has she told you so far?"

"Nothing really. But she's sticking to her story that she was working undercover for the feds. She won't even really tie herself to the crime scene. She just keeps repeating that she was working for the feds. Her badge checks out."

Jane tossed the legal pad and pen back onto the table in front of her and started fidgeting with her hands. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, I didn't think it did either, but-"

"No, Frost. She hadn't started working for them yet. That's why she was in D.C. this weekend. She was supposed to be getting everything finalized so that she could start in another month. They hadn't given her a badge yet."

"Jane, I cross-checked every database multiple times. The badge number, her I.D...everything is legitimate. She had been working with them since a month after she was pronounced dead and moved into witness protection."

Jane's body seemed to know exactly what she needed at the moment, and she made her way to the Maura's office without another word to Frost. By the time she reached the door, she was struggling to hold back tears. She was about to raise her hand to knock on the doorframe, but Maura sensed her coming and motioned for her to come in as she ended a phone call. Jane nervously played with her hands as she made her way to Maura's couch. The doctor had noticed Jane seemed distraught upon her arrival, and quickly put down the phone to make her way to her girlfriend.

She sat to Jane's left and placed one hand on the detective's back, the other on her left hand. "Jane, what's wrong?"

Jane began to sniffle and a tear threatened to fall from her right eye. "I can't cry about it. I can't give her the satisfaction."

"Who, Alex? Did something happen?"

Jane laughed cynically. "Yeah, Maur. Everything happened. She lived a whole other life without me."

Maura didn't want to pressure Jane to talk about it and upset her further. Instead, she began rubbing small circles on Jane's back to calm her while she waited for her to continue at her own pace.

"Frost found out she hadn't actually been in witness protection for as long as she said. She's been working with the feds since a month after we held her funeral. They cleared her, picked her up, and somehow everything she's been working on has led to this case. I don't even know how to begin sorting all this out, Maur. And who knows what she's actually been doing in D.C. when she was supposed to have been preparing to _start_ working with the feds."

Maura's left thumb began mimicking the actions of her other hand, tracing circles on Jane's scar. Oddly, Jane had found that when Maura did that there was no pain at all. But anyone else could so much as look at her hands and she could feel Hoyt stabbing her all over again. She thought the effect Maura had on her was odd and a little scary at times, but she loved it.

"You know what the worst part is, Maur?"

"What's that, Jane?"

"She knew how she left me, and she never bothered to tell me what really happened. She knew that she left me in Boston to grieve her for _three years_ , Maura. She never made any effort to let me - her fucking fiancee - know that she was even alive. Three years of my life were wasted crying over somebody that never gave a damn about me in the first place."

"Well I'm glad you recognize that you deserved better than how she treated you all that time. And it's perfectly reasonable for you to resent her because she could have offered you the closure you needed."

Jane leaned into Maura so that her head rested on Maura's right shoulder. She wrapped her arms around the smaller woman's waist and pulled her in close.

"I love you." It was so quiet that Maura barely heard it escape her lips. Maura lifted Jane's face so that she could place a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you too, Jane." After a moment to take in each other's embrace, Maura spoke again. "It's almost five. Technically you're not even supposed to be on this case, which leaves you with no other real responsibilities other than filing paperwork for your last one. I can give my last lab to Susie, and we can head out the Robber if you'd like."

"I think I'd rather just go home." Maura began to frown, and that didn't go unnoticed by Jane. "Home with you, I mean. Home _is_ with you, Maur." Jane stood up from the couch and lowered her hands to help Maura up and then pulled her into another hug. She placed a kiss on Maura's forehead as they hugged. "Let's get outta here."

xxx

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles.

 **xxx**

 _"Home is with you, Maur."_

The phrase replayed over and over again in Maura's head since it escaped Jane's lips the previous afternoon. After the left the precinct, they made their way back to Maura's house where they spent the evening cuddling on the couch and making love in Maura's bedroom. Maura didn't know that it was possible to feel such a deep connection to another person. Her whole life was basically a pattern of loneliness interrupted occasionally by various love interests. But with Jane...it was much different. With Jane she never felt alone, even when they were apart. Jane made her feel like she was the only thing that mattered, which was something not even her parents did when she was child. She couldn't imagine how Alex would have willingly thrown away a life with Jane, but she was grateful that had been the case.

The sun was beginning to peek through the curtains of her bedroom, and she studied Jane's peaceful features as the brunette continued to sleep. As she thought about how lucky she was to have a love like this, a tear fell down her cheek. She shifted on the bed to wipe the tear away from her cheek, but her stirring caused Jane to instinctively wake up.

As soon as Jane opened her eyes and looked toward her girlfriend, she saw that something was wrong. "Maur, are you okay? Why are you crying?" She sat up in the bed and pulled Maura into her arms protectively, as if to absorb whatever pain she might have been feeling.

Maura fell into Jane's embrace, but waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing's wrong, Jane. I just...nothing. Never mind. It's stupid."

Jane pulled away to give Maura a look that told her she knew it couldn't be nothing.

Before explaining, Maura sighed. "I was just thinking of how lucky I am to have you in my life. To have you as my girlfriend. You make me feel like I'm the only thing that matters to you in life. No one has ever done that before. Words can't express how happy I am that you and I found our way to each other."

Jane herself had never been with anyone that made her feel as wanted as Maura. She felt tears pooling in her dark brown eyes as Maura spoke. "Maur," she started to speak, but her voice was choked. She struggled to find the words to voice her own feelings, and the tears began to fall as she searched for them. Quickly wiping them away with the back of her hand, she felt a rush of determination to verbalize her thoughts. She met Maura's gaze before continuing. "You deserve the absolute best that anyone can offer you, Maura. I don't know how the hell I could have ever disliked you in the first place. Honestly, I think that makes me a little undeserving of your company let alone for you to be my girlfriend. I care more about you than I have ever cared about anyone. And I'll never be able to thank you enough for showing me what love really looks like."

Maura only became more emotional as Jane explained, and Jane closed the distance between them by placing soft kisses where her tears had fallen. Her hands came up to gently push Maura's hair behind her ears as she whispered, "I hope this is the only time I ever make you cry, Maur."

Maura turned her head slightly left to press her lips against Jane's in a tender and passionate kiss. As they broke the kiss, Maura whispered "I love you," on Jane's lips.

Jane smiled warmly at her girlfriend before placing one more kiss on her cheek. "I love you too, babe."

Jane's phone began to buzz on the nightstand, startling them both. Jane let her head crash into Maura's chest as she groaned. Maura encouraged her to answer it, suggesting it may be a break in Alex's case. Jane obeyed her girlfriend's reasonable suggestion, but remained reluctant to break contact with her.

"Rizzoli."

"Hey, Jane. Sorry if I woke you."

"Nah, Frost, it's fine. I was already up."

"Well...sorry if I interrupted you and Maura."

"No, we're just lying in bed."

"What! So there _is_ something going on between you two!" Jane immediately felt redness rush to her face, and was thankful she was only having this conversation over the phone. It hadn't even occurred to her to tell Frost about her relationship with Maura in the midst of everything going on with Alex.

"Yes.. there is. Now are you gonna tell me why you're calling me this early?"

"Yes! You just made me $50 richer, Jane! And the reason I'm calling is to tell you I found an interesting pattern among Alex and the other feds she was supposedly working this case with."

"I cannot believe you and Korsak are still taking bets on my love life. And what do you mean by 'supposedly?'"

"It's a long story, and I'm not exactly sure what it means, but they were all somehow connected to The Dealer. It could be that they're taking justice into their own hands. It turns out the victim was a guy who worked for The Dealer at the time of Alex's shooting three years ago. That would make sense for her motive, but I can't figure out a logical explanation as to why the other three feds involved would go along with her."

Maura watched as Jane's facial expression revealed she had gone into 'detective mode.'

"Alright, Frost. Keep digging, and let me know if you find anything else. I'm gonna head home to change and I should be there within the next hour."

"Already on it, Jane. And for what it's worth, I'm glad you and Maura finally saw what everyone else did. You guys were made for each other."

Maura met Jane's gaze as dark brown eyes looked at her lovingly. "Thanks Frost, I'm starting to see that too." She gave Maura a big smile.

When Jane ended the call with Frost, she and Maura headed downstairs to make breakfast together before heading back to Jane's apartment so she could change clothes.

When they reached her apartment, Maura stayed in Jane's living room giving Jo Friday some much needed attention. Jane headed to her bedroom to search her closet (and floor) for a clean shirt and slacks. She found a purple shirt that passed the sniff test and wasn't too wrinkled, so she decided to throw it on. The search for pants proved more difficult as most of them were wrinkled beyond repair from her usual three-shakes method of ironing. She shuffled through the pile of clothes before finally finding a black pair that were in decent enough shape.

As she pulled the leg free from the bottom of the pile, she noticed a pair of Alex pants were also enveloped in the mess. She knelt down to free the pair of jeans, and as she did she noticed something fall from the pocket. Her left hand reached down to pick up a baggie with a diamond logo printed on it, identical to the ones that had been scattered at the crime scene.

"What the fuck," Jane muttered. She quickly threw on her pants and shoes before exiting the bedroom. She held up the baggie to show Maura what she discovered.

"Jane! Is that-" Jane nodded. "Don't set it down! Hold on." Maura searched Jane's kitchen drawers for a larger zip-lock bag to use as a makeshift evidence bag as Jane explained where she found it.

"You need to bag her jeans as well. I like to be thorough."

Jane face relaxed into a smug grin. "Oh, you're thorough alright." She winked at Maura before returning to the bedroom to collect Alex's jeans.

"Well of course I am, Jane. It's my job. Oh.. wait. That's not what you meant. But yes. I am also thorough in other aspects of life, but I don't see you complaining." Jane returned to the kitchen to find Maura gazing at her with a seductive smile.

"Didn't say I was! We gotta get these to the lab and let Frost know. You can be as _thorough_ as you want later." She stepped closer to her girlfriend and placed a hot kiss on her neck, eliciting a soft moan from Maura's lips before turning to walk towards the door.

"Oh, I plan to be." Her eyes narrowed at Jane as she walked out of the apartment.

 **xxx**

By noon that day, Jane still hadn't visited the morgue. Maura knew she must have been busy poring over the latest breakthroughs in the case with Frost. Still, she was a little hungry so she thought she would head up to the homicide unit to find Jane so they could grab lunch. When she arrived, she found Jane sitting at her desk with her head resting in her hands as her fingers wound through her black messy curls. Maura knew this meant Jane was in deep thought. Frost was the first to glance in her direction, and said hello as Maura approached them. Finally, Jane recognized the clicking of Maura's high heels as they made their way closer to her. She spun around in her chair to face her girlfriend before standing up to give her a peck on the cheek.

"Would you get a room already?" Jane glared at Frost and he held his hands up to show he regretted even saying anything. She turned her attention back to Maura.

"Find anything new?"

"There isn't much new to find, Jane." She gave her girlfriend a disappointed look. "I'm actually here to see if you'd like to get lunch."

Jane's eyes shot down to her watch. "Holy shit, it's already noon. Yeah, Maur. Just let me grab my jacket."

"Barry, would you like to join us? We're just going to the cafe, but it would do you some good to get out of the precinct for a bit."

"Yeah, sure! If that's okay with you, Jane..."

"After everything you've done to help me today... yeah. I'll even buy your lunch." Maura noticed that despite the fact that they seemed to have cracked the case, Jane and Frost didn't seem very happy about what they had found. She made a mental note to ask them about it at lunch.

As they entered the cafe, Angela's booming voice pierced the otherwise quiet air. "There are three of my favorite people!" She exited her usual place behind the register to meet them at their table and collect their orders. "How are you guys today? Janie you don't look like you got a lot of sleep last night. Have you been eating? And I mean _really_ eating - cereal for every meal doesn't count."

Jane scowled at her mother. "Actually Angela, Jane had a very healthy breakfast this morning despite how much coffee she drank." Maura smiled.

"Oh yeah? Well look at you being a good influence on my Janie! Thank you!" She leaned in closer to Maura and lowered her voice as if no one else could hear her. "You know, it's so difficult to get this one to eat right, even though I keep telling her 'Janie, you're not gonna be that skinny forever!'" Maura giggled and Jane's eyes widened.

"Ma! Hello! I am _right_ here." Maura and Frost laughed at their exchange.

"What? I'm only saying I'm glad Maura's in your life now. Maybe she can do something with your bad habits. Goodness knows I was never able to!" Angela threw her arms up and let them fall to her sides to signal her frustration.

Before Jane could speak, Maura asked, "Oh, so Jane has told you we're together?"

Jane and Angela turned simultaneously to Maura. After a moment, Angela began to look back and forth between her daughter and the doctor. Frost just sat back in his chair, enjoying the entertainment and fully believed it was better than any movie he had seen recently.

Angela slapped Jane on the arm, and Jane's hand immediately shot up to massage the point of contact.

"Ma! What the-"

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli! When were you planning on telling your mother about you dating Maura?" She then turned back to Maura. "Honey, I'm sorry you had to be the one to tell me this, but I am so happy for you two!" Her arms stretched out to reach around both women, bringing them into one giant hug. Jane's face displayed the embarrassment and resistance she felt towards her mother, but Maura embraced the moment and wrapped her arms around Jane and Angela. Frost laughed at Jane's agony, and started to pull his phone out to take a picture.

"Oh no, don't you dare!" Jane's hand shot out to grab the phone before Frost could take the picture.

After another moment of banter, Angela returned behind the counter to put in the three orders. Maura decided that was her opportunity to ask about the detectives' findings.

"It's starting to look worse for Alex," Frost began. "You proved that there were only one set of prints other than Jane's on that baggie you guys found this morning. That in itself looks a little suspicious. Not to mention everything we turned up about her colleagues."

"What do you mean?"

Jane sighed. "Well we know one of them isn't even working with the feds. We did some asking around and he was forced to resign from NYPD's Rico unit about five years ago. Turns out he was as dirty as they come. He had been pocketing money and drugs from busts and putting it back into the drug rings. Best we can tell, he's definitely more connected to his personal interests in pushing drugs than he is to the law in this case."

"So how was he able to pose as a federal agent?" Maura was perplexed.

Jane was shoveling a panini into her mouth, so Frost took that as his cue to speak. "That's where we think the other two come in. If they're just as dirty, they could have created another identity for him like they did with Alex when she was placed in witness protection for a month." Maura nodded.

She was almost afraid to ask the question that was nagging her, but she wanted to know. "Do you two think Alex was working for the drug dealers as well?"

Jane put down the panini and began to massage her hands. "We think she might have been. I've gone over her 'death' a thousand times since it happened. After I found out she was alive, I never understood why The Dealer's guys weren't able to kill her because she was closer to them than the other two officers that were shot and killed. One was hit in the chest and died later at the hospital. One was shot in the throat and bled out before the chaos died down. If they were able to shoot the other two officers with that level of accuracy, I can't understand why they didn't even graze Alex with a bullet. But the more we uncover about this case, the clearer it becomes."

"Jane, you don't think she was working with The Dealer, do you?"

Jane's eyes remained on her hands. "I don't know, Maura. If you had asked me two days ago, I would have bet my life that she wasn't. But now... I mean, I've wracked my brain thinking of how much I really didn't know about her. I didn't know where she was when I was working every day. Who knows what she's been doing over the past three years. And even before she went away, we didn't really see each other unless we were at home together because we were never assigned the same case in the drug unit. I was usually working undercover gigs. But the funny thing is, she was always keeping tabs on me. Making sure she knew where I was when I had no idea where she was."

Silence began to envelop the three of them, but Maura's mind was still formulating questions.

"Jane - you mentioned a bullet didn't even graze her. Are you sure there were no scars?"

"I'm positive, Maur. After she made such a big deal about the scars on my hands, it didn't make sense to me that she would behave that way when she had been shot. But I checked. Nothing." Maura's hand reached over to hold Jane's while her thumb massaged her scar as the detective continued speaking. "I just assumed she got too close and was able to identify the guys who were working for The Dealer and that's why she was put into witness protection."

"Jane!" Frost was suddenly full of enthusiasm. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Both Maura and Jane looked at him with confused expressions.

"If she was close enough to see them and make an I.D., they were close enough to see her. That means they were definitely close enough to kill her, and if they didn't, it means they had to know each other."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** This chapter is rated M! You've been warned. Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli and Isles.

 **xxx**

Maura and Jane found themselves in the M.E.'s office after their lunch with Frost. He returned to the precinct to try and make the connection between Alex and The Dealers henchmen after his epiphany.

Jane was stretched out on Maura's office couch with her arm lazily covering her eyes as she softly shook her head. She couldn't believe she had been that blind. Any other day, she would have immediately been able to see a connection that obvious. But she had loved Alex. It was difficult for her to see that her (at the time) fiancee would have been capable of such a thing.

Maura knew Jane needed a few moments alone with her thoughts to effectively process what they had just discovered. She pretended to read a medical journal on her computer, but as she browsed for a new pair of heels, she kept an eye on Jane. She saw her girlfriend stir and sit up and then focused her full attention on the brunette. Jane stood up from the couch and used her hands to rub her face, then wind through her curls.

She checked the time on her watch. "Guess I better head back up and help Frost." She started to turn and leave the office, but Maura stood up quickly from her desk.

"Jane, wait." The smaller woman was already making her way towards her girlfriend. When she reached her, she immediately wrapped her arms around her waist and buried her head in her chest. Jane responded promptly by wrapping her strong arms around Maura and allowing her head to bend slightly, inhaling the scene of honey blonde hair. "Jane, I know this case has been hard on you. But you will get through this. _We_ will get through this. I promise." She removed her head from its place on Jane's chest to look into her eyes.

Jane squeezed Maura even tighter. "Thank you." Her voice was barely above a whisper and she placed a kiss on Maura's lips. "Thank you for always knowing what to say and when I need to hear it."

Maura returned a kiss of her own. "I love you, Jane."

"I love you too, Maura."

When Jane arrived back at her desk, she barely had time to place her jacket over her chair before Frost started talking. "So I spoke to Raffi from the drug unit. He gave me some files to look over. The name Paige keeps coming up." He typed something on the keyboard, and a recording began to play of a conversation The Dealer had with an undercover agent. Jane listened attentively.

 _"You don't have to worry if you get picked up. Paige will have you outta there in no time."_

Frost fast-forwarded the recording.

 _"Yeah, Paige told me they're planning a bust for some time this week. She says she's got a feeling they'll have everything worked out by the 12th, so be on your toes this week. I need you and Marcus to be here at the warehouse."_

"Frost, stop." Jane looked at her partner with wide eyes and her voice was tense. "Alexandra _Paige_ was killed on December 12th. Marcus Mann was one of the guys they picked up for killing those officers during the bust. The other guy was named Calvin Shaw, but he was killed in a prison brawl not long after he was locked up. Marcus is still there though. You gotta take Raffi and go talk to them."

"On it." Frost stood and put his jacket on. As he was heading out of the precinct, Jane sat heavily in her desk chair and rubbed her temples with her index and middle fingers.

 **xxx**

Meanwhile in the lab, Susie Chang was processing Alex's jeans. Always striving to be as thorough as her hero, Dr. Maura Isles, she decided to use a UV lamp to rule out any potential stains that may be crucial to the case. She turned off the fluorescent lights of the lab, and made her way to the pants with the UV lamp. She slowly scanned it over the clothing, taking her time to inspect every inch of denim. After she was unable to detect anything with the UV lamp, she made her way back towards the light switch. She caught a glimpse of a glow out of the corner of her right eye. When she turned to see where it was coming from, she was drawn to the baggie that had been brought in with the pants. Within the stamped logo of a white diamond with black outlines was a glowing purple "P".

This, of course, piqued her curiosity. She produced the baggies that had been scattered around the crime scene. All of them - except the copy cat's bag - had the same P embedded within the logo. She then compared those samples to the original baggies that were used by The Dealer. There, she found no P within the original.

Maura entered the lab at that time and started to turn on the lights before she saw Susie using the UV lamp. "Dr. Isles! I think you should take a look at this."

The Chief Medical Examiner was briefed by Susie on her recent discovery, and after seeing it for herself, she called Jane to deliver the news. From there, Jane texted Frost to make sure he asked Marcus if he had any knowledge regarding who was supposed to take over the coke business after The Dealer died. She knew it was in vain, but she still hoped Marcus would deny that it was "Paige."

It was nearly 5:00 before Jane finally received the long awaited phone call from Frost. "Rizzoli."

"Hey, Jane. Sorry it took so long. Criminals like to bargain before they talk. You know how it goes."

"Yeah, we'll get to that later though. What'd you find out?"

"You were right. Whoever Paige is, she's supposed to take over the business. After we agreed to let him have more visitation privileges for his daughters, he was more than happy to talk. Apparently there's some bad blood there. Paige promised to pull strings for him and Calvin after The Dealer was dead and she took over, but she didn't deliver. The only thing he's more loyal to than that coke business is his family. It really messed him up when he found out he was stuck in prison without being able to see them."

"Imagine that. Cop killer and family man." Jane scoffed. "So did he give you any info about who Paige is?"

"Even better. He identified her from a photo line up. It's definitely Alex." Jane was silent, so Frost continued explaining. "He said she started out by getting a little cash on the side for keeping The Dealer's boys out of jail or bouncing them after they were picked up. Then it escalated to losing evidence and planting it on his known competitors. With each step up the ladder, it meant more money for her. Eventually she was a full-blown informant for him. She was definitely the one that tipped them off about the bust."

Jane sighed, "So what happened after she was placed in witness?"

"That was all a ruse too. The two feds she was placed with during that month were dirty, as we suspected, and they let her continue communicating with The Dealer. She was able to give him guidance for how to handle our boys in the drug unit in order for him to have the upper hand. She was feeding him dirt on almost every detective in the unit. You should be glad you left when you did."

"Trust me. I am. How does this translate to her taking over the business? Maura found a UV stamp of the letter P on those new baggies we found. That was missing from the original design. She's marking her product."

"Well she's smart to hide it that way. From what Marcus could tell me, The Dealer saw her as more dedicated to the business than any other guy that worked for him. He made her his successor about a year after she went into witness. Marcus said she got greedy and that he wouldn't be surprised if she was the one that killed The Dealer. He said it was unlike him to be exposed to known threats. Marcus is even willing to testify to all of this."

Jane swallowed hard. She couldn't believe Frost was telling her that the woman she once loved and grieved might be a murderer and a drug lord in the making. She felt herself becoming sick. "Okay thanks, Frost." She quickly hung up the phone and headed for the restroom.

After emptying the contents of her stomach into the nearest toilet, Jane washed up at the sink and stared at herself in the mirror. The last time she stared at herself like this she realized she was in love with Maura. This time, it was entirely different.

 _Some detective you are. You couldn't even see that your fiancee was getting dirty money on the side from a drug dealer. A fucking drug dealer. When you worked the drug unit! Way to drop the ball on that one, Rizzoli. And you cried over this woman. You mourned her. And she played you for a fool. That's all you ever were to her. You're not a fool to Maura, but you might be if she knew how oblivious you were to Alex's side-business. But Maura probably still wouldn't think you were a fool for that. She's too good a person to think such a thing. She's too good for you._

"Jane?" Maura's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She turned to face the blonde, standing in the doorway. Maura began walking towards Jane, sensing something was wrong.

"Have you been vomiting?"

Jane couldn't help but laugh at her question. "How can you tell?"

"Well you look very pale, your hands feel clammy, and it smells like vomit." Maura giggled. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I am now." She wrapped her arms around Maura's waist as Maura's right hand came up to determine if she was feverish. "Don't worry, I'm not sick. Everything just hit me at once. It was a little too much to handle."

Maura's hands finally made their way around Jane's waist as she finished her examination. "I take it that means Frost confirmed your suspicions."

"Yeah," Jane's confirmation was barely audible. "She did it. I don't need to hear it from her to know she did it. We've got somebody that was tied to the dealer who's willing to testify against her. He knows the whole story. She'll be put away for a long time."

Maura looked up to meet Jane's gaze. "I'm sorry you're having to go through all this, love. I know it isn't easy on you. And I know you well enough to know that you're punching yourself for not recognizing it when it was happening."

Jane lips curved into a small smile. "It's kicking. I'm kicking myself, Maur." The two laughed softly. "But you're right.. I am."

"Imagine how long it would have taken Frost to crack this on his own. Even though you were technically banned from the case, you still made all the connections, and it only took you two days to do it. That's the finest display of detective work I've ever seen. Even from you, Jane Rizzoli."

 **xxx**

Later that night, Maura was finishing up her nightly routine of brushing, flossing, removing her make-up and moisturizing her face. Jane was in Maura's bedroom, sitting on the side of the bed with her feet dangling off of it as she removed the magazine from her gun and began taking the entire thing apart. Her messy curls were pulled into an even messier bun. She moved to the floor and sat with her legs cross underneath her. She pulled her phone out and set the timer for zero. The pieces of her weapon were scattered around the floor, and she didn't notice Maura standing in the doorway of the adjoining bathroom. She hit start on the timer and with her eyes closed reassembled the weapon in a record time. She smiled proudly, pleased with herself for beating her previous record by a tenth of a second.

"Is this what you do in your spare time?" Maura laughed.

"No, this is what I do when I need to feel good about myself again." She said quietly, "If I can't shoot it, I take it apart and put it back together." Her voice sounded more confident at that. Maura moved closer to her and sat next to her in the floor with her back leaning against the side of the bed.

"You're good at other things too, Jane." Her voice was sultry, and it immediately grabbed Jane's attention.

"Is that right?" She moved so that she was on her hands and knees, situated so close to Maura that her lips hovered above Maura's.

Maura smiled before placing chaste kisses on Jane's lips between words. "Yes. It. Is."

Jane snaked her left arm around the small of Maura's back and slid her down so that she was lying on the floor. Jane then moved her left hand from Maura's back to the side of her face as she placed a passionate kiss on Maura's lips. She was thankful her hair was in a bun. She hated having to push it out of the way for her to fully taste Maura's lips. It didn't take long for Maura to deepen the kiss, gliding her tongue across Jane's lips before it slipped into her mouth. Jane moaned at the contact of Maura's tongue on hers.

"God, Maur. You're so fucking sexy." Jane began kissing her way down Maura's jawline, momentarily coming back up to nibble at her ear and flick the lobe with her tongue a couple of times before returning to trail kisses down Maura's neck.

When her lips met cotton, Jane realized that Maura was wearing one of her own oversized BPD shirts. She stopped kissing Maura and sat up so that she was straddling her lap. For a moment she just stared in awe at how beautiful her girlfriend was. No make-up, blonde hair in tousled curls, nothing on but an old ratty t-shirt that was three sizes too large. Maura Isles was perfection. There was no better sight in the world than this. She felt Maura's hands searching for their scarred partners, and met them so their fingers could intertwine. Both women held each other's gaze. Jane remained straddling Maura. She wanted to burn this sight into her memory.

"What are you thinking right now, Jane?" Maura was genuinely curious, and smiled sweetly as she asked the question.

"I'm thinking about how I don't ever want to live a day without you. I've never wanted anything so bad - badly! - in my life. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you as the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see before I fall asleep." Maura shifted so that she was sitting on her knees in front of Jane as she continued to listen. Their hands remained interlocked. "I want us to build a life together, Maur-"

"Let's get married, Jane."

"Wha- Maur, are you sure? Wait - no. We can't. I don't have a ring for you or anything. You need a ring."

"No I don't, Jane. I just need you." Maura kissed Jane desperately, placing her hand on the back of Jane's neck and pulling them impossibly closer. Jane returned the kiss with the same amount of intensity, and stood them both up so that she could lay Maura onto the bed. She climbed on top of her girlfriend and began to remove Maura's t-shirt to reveal the delicate figure beneath it. Her lips traced every inch of Maura's milky white skin as Maura moaned and removed Jane's shirt. She allowed her fingers to trace every muscular groove of Jane's physique.

Neither woman could get enough of the other in that moment. Maura quickly hooked her fingers around the hem of Jane's boy shorts and slid them down slender legs. Jane kicked the shorts onto the floor before quickly flipping them around so that Maura was now on top of her. Jane raised up slightly so that she could capture Maura's breast with her mouth, causing Maura to moan loudly.

"Jane," she breathed, "I - I need.."

"I know, baby."

Jane moved her hand further down to meet the source of Maura's wetness. Maura moaned again and gripped Jane's shoulder tightly at the contact. She moved her own hand to do the same to Jane.

"Oh, M-Maura"

Jane slid two fingers between Maura's folds and used her palm to create extra stimulus for Maura's clit. She began to pump her fingers in and out at a faster and faster pace, and Maura mimicked the speed of the small circles her thumb traced over Jane's nub. Maura's hips began to buck, escalating the pleasure for both women. Jane's free hand made its way to Maura's breasts and began to tease her nipples.

"Jane.. s-so close"

"I got you, Maur. Let go, babe." Long, tanned fingers pumped even faster and Maura fell forward onto Jane as she began to climax. Jane could feel herself about to go over the edge, and finally did as Maura placed another hot kiss against her lips. They rode out their orgasms together as they each moaned into each other's mouths between kisses. As their trembling subsided, Jane wrapped her arms around the smaller woman who still lay on top of her. Maura motioned for Jane's hand, and intertwined their fingers once more.

"We're getting married, Jane." She looked up and gave Jane the biggest smile she had ever seen.

Jane returned the expression. "We're getting married, Maur!" She squeezed the smaller woman tightly and Maura laughed out loud. Jane rolled Maura so that they laid side by side, facing one another. "But I'm still getting you a ring!"

Maura knew it would do her no good to protest Jane's chivalrous traditions. Instead she snuggled closer to Jane and threw her arm across the slim waist. She buried her head in Jane's chest and quickly fell asleep as Jane stroked her hair.

Jane was wrapped up in thoughts of what Maura's perfect wedding ring probably looked like, but once she allowed herself to feel Maura's even breath against her chest, sleep found its way to her.

They both unknowingly dreamt of a life with each other.


End file.
